TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY

COMPILED AND ARRANGED

BY JAMES JOHONNOT

1887

[Illustration: ANCIENT GREECE (Map)]

[Illustration: MAYFLOWER, 1620]

PREFACE. 

Patriotism, or love of country, is one of the tests of nobility ofcharacter. No great man ever lived that was not a patriot in thehighest and truest sense. From the earliest times, the sentiment ofpatriotism has been aroused in the hearts of men by the narrative ofheroic deeds inspired by love of country and love of liberty. Thistruth furnishes the key to the arrangement and method of the presentwork. The ten epochs treated are those that have been potential inshaping subsequent events; and when men have struck blows for humanliberty against odds and regardless of personal consequences. Thesimple narrative carries its own morals, and the most profitable workfor the teacher will be to merely supplement the narrative so that thepicture presented shall be all the more vivid. Moral reflections arewearisome and superfluous. 

CONTENTS. 

 I. --DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR

 II. --CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS

 III. --DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES

 IV. --BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURN. 

 V. --COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD

 VI. --DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES

 VII. --THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA

 VIII. --FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA

 IX. --PLASSEY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WON

 X. --LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL

TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

CHAPTER I. 

_DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. _

1. The great events in history are those where, upon specialoccasions, a man or a people have made a stand against tyranny, andhave preserved or advanced freedom for the people. Sometimes tyrannyhas taken the form of the oppression of the many by the few in thesame nation, and sometimes it has been the oppression of a weak nationby a stronger one. The successful revolt against tyranny, the terribleconflict resulting in the emancipation of a people, has always beenthe favorite theme of the historian, marking as it does a step in theprogress of mankind from a savage to a civilized state. 

2. One of the earliest as well as most notable of these conflicts ofwhich we have an authentic account took place in Greece twenty-fourhundred years ago, or five hundred years before the Christian era. Atthat time nearly all of Europe was inhabited by rude barbarous tribes. In all that broad land the arts and sciences which denote civilizationhad made their appearance only in the small and apparentlyinsignificant peninsula of Greece, lying on the extreme southeastborder adjoining Asia. 

3. At a period before authentic history begins, it is probable thatroving tribes of shepherds from the north took possession of the hillsand valleys of Greece. Shut off on the north by mountain ranges, andon all other sides surrounded by the sea, these tribes were able tomaintain a sturdy independence for many hundred years. The numerousharbors and bays which subdivide Greece invited to a maritime life, and at a very early time, the descendants of the original shepherdsbecame skillful navigators and courageous adventurers. 

4. The voyages of Aeneas and Ulysses in the siege of Troy, and thoseof Jason in search of the golden fleece, and of Perseus to the courtof King Minos, are the mythological accounts, embellished byimagination and distorted by time, of what were real voyages. Crossingthe Mediterranean, Grecian adventurers became acquainted with theEgyptians, then the most civilized people of the world; and from Egyptthey took back to their native country the germs of the arts andsciences which afterward made Greece so famous. 

5. Thence improvements went forward with rapid strides. Hints receivedfrom Egypt were reproduced in higher forms. Massive temples becamelight and airy, rude sculpture became beautiful by conforming tonatural forms, and hieroglyphics developed into the letters whichCadmus invented or improved. Schools were established, athletic sportswere encouraged, aesthetic taste was developed, until in the arts, inphilosophy, in science, and in literature the Greeks took the lead ofall peoples. 

6. As population increased, colonies went out, settling upon theadjacent coasts of Asia and upon the islands farther west. In Asia theGreek colonists were subject to the Persian Empire, which thenextended its rule over all Western Asia, and claimed dominion overAfrica and Eastern Europe. The Greeks, fresh from the freedom of theirnative land, could not patiently endure the extortions of the Persiangovernment, to which their own people submitted without question;hence conflicts arose which finally culminated in Persia takingcomplete possession of the Asiatic Greek cities. 

7. But the ties of kinship were strong, and the people of Greecekeenly resented the tyranny which had been exercised over theircountrymen, and an irrepressible conflict arose between the twonations. The Persian king, Darius, determined to put an end to allannoyance by invading and subjugating Greece. Before the final marchof his army, Darius sent heralds throughout Greece demanding soil andwater as an acknowledgment of the supremacy of Persia, but Herodotussays that at Sparta, when this impudent demand was made, the heraldswere thrown into wells and told to help themselves to all the earthand water they liked. 

8. After a long preparation, in 490 B. C. , an army of one hundredthousand men or more, under the command of Artaphernes, convoyed by aformidable fleet, invaded Greece. For a long time it met with littleopposition, and city after city submitted to the overwhelming hosts ofthe Persian king. The approach to Athens was regarded as the finalturning point of the war. 

9. Artaphernes selected the Plains of Marathon, twenty-two miles tothe northeast of Athens, as the place of his final landing. Hisforces, by the lowest estimate, consisted of one hundred and fiftythousand men, of which ten thousand were cavalry. To these wereopposed the army of Athens and its allies, consisting in all of tenthousand men. The battle-ground forms an irregular crescent, six mileslong and two broad in its widest part. It is bounded on one side bythe sea, and on the other by a rampart of mountains. At the time ofthe battle the extremities of the plain were flanked by swamps, diminishing the extent of the front, and hampering the operations ofthe larger army. The command of the Greek army had been intrusted toten generals, who ruled successively one day each. Themistocles, oneof these generals, resigned his day in favor of Miltiades, and all theothers followed his example. And so the battle was set, ten thousandGreeks, under Miltiades, against the overwhelming hosts of the enemy. 

10. The Persians, confident in their numbers, erected nointrenchments. They did not dream of an attack from the little band ofGreeks. There is evidence to believe that they were dissatisfied withthe nature of the battle-field they had chosen, and were upon thepoint of embarking to land at some point nearer the city. If this wasthe case, they were very rudely awakened from their dream of securityby the movement of the Greeks. 

11. On the morning of the tenth day after leaving Athens, Miltiadesdrew up his army in order of battle. He was obliged to perilouslyweaken his center in order to confront the whole of the Persian army, so as to avoid the danger of being outflanked and surrounded. TheGreeks began the battle by a furious attack along the whole line, endeavoring to close in a hand-to-hand conflict as soon as possible, so as to avoid the deadly arrows of the Persians, and to take theadvantage of their heavier arms. The Persians were greatly astonishedwhen they saw this little band rushing against them with such aheadlong dash, and thought that the Greeks must have been seized withmadness. The Persian general had concentrated his forces at thecenter, and at this part of the battle-field the fiery onset of Greekswas checked by mere weight of numbers. But at length the mightyPersian force moved irresistibly forward, forcing the Greeks slowlybackward, fighting, dying, but never yielding. Soon the Greek armywere cut in two, and the Persians marched proudly onward to assuredvictory. 

12. But the battle was not yet over. The genius of Miltiades hadanticipated this result. The wings of the Greek army, strengthened atthe expense of the center, fell upon the weakened wings of thePersians with irresistable onset. The invaders were forced back stepby step, the retreat soon changing into a wild and promiscuous rout, and two thirds of the Persian army ceased to exist as a fightingforce. The victorious Greeks now turned their attention to the Persiancenter, falling upon its flanks with incredible fury. Surrounded onall sides, for a time the Persians maintained their old reputation asvaliant soldiers, but nothing could withstand the impetuosity of theGreeks, and soon the whole of the invading hosts were in tumultuousretreat. 

13. The victorious Greeks pressed rapidly forward to prevent the foefrom embarking, and, if possible, to capture some of the ships. Butthe Persian archers held the victors in check until the flyingsoldiery were embarked, and the Greeks obtained possession of onlyseven vessels. But they were left in undisputed possession of thefield of battle, the camp of the enemy, and an immense amount oftreasure which had been abandoned in the precipitate flight. Sixthousand four hundred Persian dead remained on the plain, while theGreek loss was one hundred and ninety-two. 

14. All Athens hastened to welcome the brave soldiery. A Spartanforce, on its way to join the Athenians, arrived too late to take partin the battle, and they quietly returned home. As the news spread, loud and frantic rejoicings were heard throughout Greece, and the nameof Persia, so long a dread and a menace, lost much of its terrors. 

[Illustration: _Acropolis at Athens_]

15. But the battle of Marathon, and the victory of Miltiades, had awider significance than could enter into the imaginations of thenliving man. It was a conflict between the barbarism of Asia and thedawning civilization of Europe, between Oriental despotism and humanliberty. The victory rendered normal human growth possible, and, touse the expressive phrase of the modern poet--

 "Henceforth to the sunset, unchecked on its way, Shall liberty follow the march of the day. "

It was not for the Greeks alone, but for all ages and all peoples; andin this Western World, when we celebrate the birth of our own country, we should ever keep in mind the desperate struggle at Marathon, andthe valor of Miltiades and his Greek soldiery. 

16. But the war was not yet over. A single defeat did not extinguishthe hopes of the Persian monarch, nor exhaust the resources of hisempire. Herodotus says: "Now Darius was very bitter against theAthenians, and when he heard the tale of the battle of Marathon he wasmuch more wroth, and desired much more eagerly to march againstHellas. Straightway he sent heralds to all the cities, and bade themmake ready an army, and to furnish much more than they had donebefore, both ships, and horses, and corn; and while the heralds weregoing round, all Asia was shaken for three years; but in the fourthyear the Egyptians, who had been made slaves by Cambyses, rebelledagainst the Persians, and then the king sought only the morevehemently to go both against the Egyptians and against the Greeks. Sohe named Xerxes, his son, to be king over the Persians after himself, and made ready to march. But in the year after the revolt of Egypt, Darius himself died; nor was he suffered to punish the Athenians orthe Egyptians who had rebelled against him. "

17. The death of Darius gave Greece a respite, but the final conflictwas only postponed. Xerxes was weak, obstinate, and vain-glorious, buthe inherited all his father's hatred of the Greeks, and he resolvedupon one supreme effort to reduce them to subjection. For seven yearsmore the whole vast Persian empire resounded with the notes ofpreparation. In 480 B. C. , ten years after the battle of Marathon, everything was in readiness. A formidable fleet had been built andequipped, corn and military stores had been collected to a vastamount, and an army had gathered which, including camp followers, wasvariously estimated at from three to five millions. A bridge of boatswas built across the Hellespont, and the Oriental horde was preparedto ravage the Grecian valleys like a swarm of devouring locusts. Agreat storm arose and destroyed the bridge, and the Persian despotordered the Hellespont scourged with whips in token of hisdispleasure. When the bridge was rebuilt, Xerxes, from a throneerected upon the shore, for seven days and nights, watched his mightyhost pass over from Asia into Europe. 

18. In the mean time the Greeks were preparing for the onset. Sparta, true to her military organization, did little but to bring her army tothe perfection of discipline, and many of the weaker cities resolvedto quietly submit to the invaders. The Athenians alone seemed to havefully understood the gravity of the situation. To them the rage of thePersian king was particularly directed, for the crushing defeat atMarathon, and Athens was more exposed than any other of the Greekcities. During the ten years Athens raised and equipped as large anarmy as her population would warrant. Every able-bodied man wasenrolled in the ranks. Food and military stores were collected, butthe chief means of defense was a novel one, and showed the desperatenature of the conflict in which they were about to engage. Under thewise direction of Themistocles they built a formidable fleet, so largethat in case of emergency the whole population of the city couldembark, and either remain afloat or take refuge on the neighboringislands. 

19. A congress of the cities had determined to oppose the approach ofXerxes at some favorable place by a combined army. At the head of theMaliac gulf there was a narrow pass, through which the Persians had togo, the road running between a mountain and a swamp which stretched tothe sea; and at one place the swamp came so near the mountain thatthere was hardly room for the road to run between. This is the famouspass of Thermopylæ; and here it was that a small army might block theway against any number of the enemy. Across this pass a wall wasbuilt, and behind it was posted the Greek army under the command ofLeonidas, the Spartan king. His forces consisted of three hundredSpartans, seven hundred Thespians, and about four thousand more fromthe various Grecian cities. The Persians approached, and for four dayswaited, expecting to see the Greek army disperse at the very sight oftheir formidable numbers. But as they were apparently not frightened, on the fifth day the Persians made an attack. For two days the battlecontinued, inflicting great losses upon the Persians, while the littlearmy of Leonidas, behind their fortifications, was scarcely injured. 

20. On the third morning a renegade Greek showed Xerxes a path acrossthe mountains where he could completely turn the Greek position. ThePersians were not slow to avail themselves of this intelligence, andtoward the close of the third day Leonidas saw the enemy descendingthe mountain, ready to surround him and cut off his retreat. Actingpromptly, he ordered his allies to leave the field before it was toolate, but he, with his devoted band of three hundred, were to remain, in accordance of a Spartan law which forbade a Spartan soldier ever toretreat from the presence of an enemy. The seven hundred Thespiansremained with him, and the whole band was cut down, but not withoutinflicting fearful loss upon the enemy. 

[Illustration: THERMOPYLAE (Map)]

21. While the passage of Thermopylæ was disputed, he Greek fleetadvanced and took position in the strait of Artemisium, to prevent thePersian fleet from advancing farther into Greek waters. During thebattle the fleets were also engaged in an indecisive conflict. Astorm, however, arose and destroyed two hundred of the Persian ships. When Thermopylæ fell there was no longer reason for defendingArtemisium, and the Greek fleet returned to defend the approach toAthens at the strait of Salamis. 

22. Athens was now at the mercy of the conqueror. The Spartan armymoved off to defend their own city. It was now that the wisdom ofThemistocles showed itself. "The Athenians had no hope of being ableto defend Athens, and resolved to abandon the town, and to removetheir wives and children out of Attica to a place of safety. The wholepopulation, men, women, and children, sorrowfully left their homes, and streamed down to the sea-shore, carrying what they could withthem. " The fleet took them over to Salamis and adjacent islands; andwhen Xerxes reached Athens he found it silent and deserted. A few pooror desperate men alone refused to depart, and had posted themselvesbehind a wooden fortification on the top of the Acropolis, thefortress and sanctuary of Athens. The Persians fired thefortifications, stormed the Acropolis, slaughtered its defenders, andburned every holy place to the ground. Athens and its citadel were inthe hands of the barbarians; its inhabitants were scattered, its holyplaces destroyed. One hope alone remained to the Athenians--the shipswhich Themistocles had persuaded them to build. 

23. The fleet was anchored in the strait of Salamis, and beside thetwo hundred ships of Athens, it consisted of a large number from otherports of Greece. Among the Greeks there were divided counsels; somewere for giving immediate battle, and some were for flying from thethousand Persian ships now advancing upon them. Themistocles saw thatto retreat would be ruin, and he by stratagem kept every ship in itsplace. He sent secret word to the Persians that the Greek fleet wouldsoon be in full retreat, and the Persian admiral sent two hundredvessels to blockade the farther extremity of the strait, so thatflight was impossible. 

[Illustration: BATTLE OF SALAMIS (Map)]

24. When everything was in readiness, Xerxes, from a throne built forhim on the shore so that he might be a spectator of the fight, gavethe signal to advance. At once all the long banks of oars in thethousand ships flashed in the light and dipped in the water. But here, as at Marathon, the way was narrow, and there was no chance for thedisplay of the full power of the Persian fleet. In a hand-to-handconflict they stood no chance with the Greeks, and Xerxes, withdespair in his heart, saw two hundred of his best ships sunk orcaptured and many more seriously disabled, while the Greeks hadsuffered little loss. 

25. Themistocles remained all night at his anchorage, ready to renewthe conflict on the morrow, but Xerxes, fearful for the fate of hisbridge across the Hellespont, ordered the eight hundred remainingships to sail for its protection, while he and his whole army marchedas rapidly as possible for the same point. The number assembled topass back into Asia was greatly diminished from the hosts which a fewmonths before had so proudly marched to assured victory. Besides thoselost in battle, thousands had perished through disease and famine. Butthe hope of final success was not entirely abandoned, and the Persiangeneral, Mardonius, with three hundred thousand of the best soldiersof the invading army, were left to complete the conquest. 

26. With the retreat of Xerxes, the Athenians returned to their city, finding their temples destroyed, and their homes desolated, but theyimmediately commenced the work of rebuilding, and, amid rejoicings andrenewed hopes, the city arose from its ashes. The clash of arms gaveplace to the din of industry, and the fighting soldier was replaced bythe peaceable citizen. 

27. In the mean time, Mardonius went into winter quarters in thenorthern provinces, and during the winter he endeavored to effect bynegotiation and bribery what he had failed to accomplish by arms. Hesucceeded in exciting the jealousy of several of the cities towardeach other, so that it was difficult to bring about concert of action, and he succeeded in detaching Thebes entirely from the confederacy, and arraying it against Athens. The Theban force which joined his armybecame one of the most formidable foes which the allied Greek had tomeet. 

28. The negotiations continued through the spring, but as summerapproached the army of Mardonius was on the move. Sparta was not readyto meet the invader, and the Athenians once more took refuge on theirships, ten months after their return. Mardonius took possession of thecity, and this time effectually destroyed it; but as nothing was to begained by a further stay, he marched his army to Thebes, which becamehis headquarters. The Spartans were at length ready to march. They sawtheir city menaced, and their own safety demanded that the forces ofMardonius should be broken. 

29. With the aid of their allies they put into the field an army, thelargest that the Greeks ever mustered, variously reported as numberingone hundred thousand to one hundred and ten thousand men. These wereunder the command of the Spartan king, Pausanias. In September theyset out for Thebes, and in a few days came up to the Persian army, which was stationed at Plataea, a short distance from Thebes. HereMardonius had established a fortified camp to which he might retreatif defeated on the field. For eleven days the two armies confrontedeach other, neither anxious to strike the first blow. Then the supplyof water for the Greek camp gave out, and Pausanias fell back to abetter position. 

30. This movement threw the Greek army into disorder, and the threemain divisions became separated from one another. Perceiving this thenext morning, Mardonius hastened with his Persians toward the higherground, where the Spartan troops might be seen winding along under thehillside, for from the river-banks he could not catch sight of theAthenians, who were hidden among the low hills which rose from thelevel plain. 

31. The last momentous strife had now begun. It was the custom of theSpartans before beginning a battle to offer sacrifice, and to wait foran omen or sign from heaven on the offering. Even now, when thePersians had advanced to within bow-shot and were pouring flights ofarrows upon the Spartans, Pausanias offered sacrifice. But the omenswere bad, and forbade any action except in self-defence. The Spartansknelt behind their shields, but the arrows pierced them, and thebravest men died sorrowfully, lamenting not for death, but becausethey died without striking a blow for Sparta. In his distressPausanias called upon the goddess Hera, and the omens suddenly becamefavorable, and the Spartans with their Tegean allies threw themselvesupon the enemy. 

32. But the disparity of forces rendered the attack desperate. Fifty-three thousand Greeks in all were opposed to the overwhelmingnumbers of Mardonius. The Athenians were engaged elsewhere and couldafford no assistance. The Persians had made a palisade of their wickershields, behind which they could securely and effectually use theirbows and arrows. By the first fierce onset of the Greeks this palisadewent down, but the Asiatics, laying aside their bows, foughtdesperately with javelins and daggers. But they had no metal armor todefend them; and the Spartans, with their lances fixed and theirshields touching each other, bore down everything before them. 

33. The Persians fought with almost Hellenic heroism. Coming to closequarters, they seized the spears of their enemies and broke off theirheads. Rushing forward singly or in small groups, they were borne downin the crush and killed; still they were not dismayed; and the battleraged more fiercely on the spot where Mardonius, on his white horse, fought with the flower of his troops. At length Mardonius was slain, and when his chosen guards had fallen around him, the remainder of thePersians made their way to their fortified camp, and took refugebehind its wooden walls. 

34. In the mean time the Athenian army had been confronted by thePersian-Theban allies. Here it was not a conflict between disciplinedvalor and barbaric hordes, but between Greek and Greek. The battle waslong and bloody, but in the end the defenders of Greek liberty werevictorious over those who would destroy it. The Theban force was notonly defeated but annihilated, and then the Athenians hastened to thesupport of Pansanias. While the Spartans were the best-drilledsoldiery in Greece for the field, they had little skill in siegeoperations, and the wooden walls of the Persian camp opposed to theman effective barrier. 

35. While the Spartan force was engaged in abortive attempts, theAthenians and their allies came up fresh from their victory over theThebans. Headed by the Tegeans, they burst like a deluge into theencampment, and the Persians, losing all heart, sought wildly to hidethemselves like deer flying from lions. Then followed a carnage sofearful that out of two hundred and sixty thousand men not threethousand, it is said, remained alive. 

36. Thus ended this formidable invasion, which threatened the veryexistence of Greece. The great wave of Oriental despotism had spentits force without submerging freedom. Thenceforth the wonderful Greekenergy and creative power might be turned away from matters militaryand expended upon the arts of peace. 

37. The Athenians returned to their city and found everything inruins. Fire and hate had destroyed home and temple alike. All theaccumulated wealth of generations was gone. Nothing was left but theindomitable energy which had been tested on so many tryingemergencies, and the wonderful skill of eye and hand which came ofinherited aptitude and long personal experience. Upon the old site anew city grew in a single generation, marvelous in its splendor oftemple and palace, so light and airy, yet so strong and enduring, thatafter the lapse of twenty-five centuries the marble skeletons, thoughin ruins, stand, the admiration of all men and of all ages. 

CHAPTER II. 

_CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS_. 

1. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, in the year 70 of theChristian era, Palestine continued for upward of two centuries in thecondition of a Roman province, inhabited by a mixed population ofpagans, Jews, and Christians. In Jerusalem, temples of Venus andJupiter were erected on the most sacred spots of Christian history;and heathenism triumphed in the possession of the Holy City of tworeligions. On the establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire byConstantine, in the year 321, this state of things was changed;Palestine and Jerusalem became objects of interest to all Christians, and crowds of pilgrims visited the localities celebrated by theevangelists. Splendid churches were erected on the ruins of pagantemples, and every spot pointed out as the scene of the memorableevents in the life of Christ and his apostles was marked by a chapelor house of prayer. Jerusalem and the Holy Land became the resort ofnumerous bodies of clergy, who resided in the churches and monasterieswhich the piety of the wealthy had founded for them. 

2. At the end of the fourth century, the gigantic Roman Empire wasbroken up into two, the Eastern, the capital of which wasConstantinople, and the Western, the capital of which was Rome. It wasto the former of these that Syria and Palestine were attached. Beforethe end of the fifth century the Western Empire had been destroyed bythe eruption of the German races, and the beginnings of a new Europeancivilization were rising from its ruins. Meanwhile, the Easternremained entire, till about the year 630, when the Arabs, burning withthe spirit of conquest infused into them by the religion of Mohammed, poured into its provinces. Egypt, Syria, and Palestine were annexed asdependencies to the great Arabic Empire of the caliphs. The religionof Mohammed became dominant in the Holy Land, the temples and chapelswere converted into mosques. 

3. Numbers of pilgrims still continued each year to visit Palestine. In return for a certain tribute, the earlier caliphs permitted theChristians of Jerusalem to have a patriarch, and to carry on their ownform of worship. Of all the caliphs, the celebrated Haroun al-Rashid, best known to us in the stories of the "Arabian Nights, " was the mosttolerant, and under him the Christians enjoyed perfect peace. 

4. Great cruelties were practised by the Fatimite caliphs, whoconquered Syria about the year 980. The pilgrims were robbed, beaten, and sometimes slain on their journey, the Christian residentsoppressed by heavy impositions, and their feelings outraged by insultsagainst their religion. These sufferings were slight, however, compared with those which they endured after the invasion and conquestof Palestine by the Turkish hordes in 1065. But recently converted toMoslemism, and therefore more rude and fanatical than the otherMohammedans, these Turks wreaked their vengeance on allalike--Christians, Jews, and even the native Mohammedans. 

5. The news of the atrocities perpetrated by the Turks produced a deepsensation over the whole of Christendom, as well among the LatinChristians as among the Greek Christians, the name given to thepopulation of what remained of the old Byzantine Empire. The latterhad reason to dread that, if the Turks were not checked, Constantinople, their capital, would soon share the same fate asJerusalem. Accordingly, about the year 1073, the Greek Emperor, ManuelVII, sent to supplicate the assistance of the great Pope Gregory VIIagainst the Turks. Till now there had prevailed a spirit of antagonismbetween the Greek and Latin churches, the former refusing to yieldobedience to the pope of the West as the universal head of the Church. Gregory, therefore, eagerly received the application of the GreekEmperor, seeing the promise of the final subjection of the Greek tothe Latin Church. He resolved to give the enterprise his countenance, and to march himself at the head of an army to rescue the HolySepulchre. 

6. Gregory was prevented from ever carrying out his design, and theidea of a crusade gradually died away. Meanwhile, the Turks extendedtheir victories at the expense of the Greek Empire. Before theaccession of the celebrated Alexius Comnenus to the throne in 1081, the whole of Asia Minor was in the possession of the Turks, and brokenup into a number of kingdoms, the sultans of which soon began toquarrel among themselves. The disturbed state of Asia Minor greatlyincreased the sufferings of the pilgrims; not one out of threereturned to recount the story of his hardships. 

7. Among those who undertook the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, when thedangers attending it were the greatest, was a native of Amiens inFrance, named Peter, who had become a monk and an ascetic, beingcalled from his solitary manner of life, Peter the Hermit. He arrivedsafely at Jerusalem, and visited all the scenes sacred to aChristian's eyes. As he walked along the streets, looking at this andthat holy spot, insolent and contemptuous Turks looked on and mockedhim, and his spirit grew bitter within him, and his hand clutcheditself convulsively as if longing for a sword. 

8. Burning with a sense of injuries sustained by the Christians, andthe desecration of the sacred places, he sought the counsel of Simeon, the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem. In reply to Peter's questions, heexplained that nothing was to be expected from the Greek Empire inbehalf of the Holy Land, the court of Constantinople was so dissoluteand corrupt, and that the only hope was that the Latin princes mightbe persuaded to form a league for the grand purpose entertained byGregory VII. "Write, " Peter said to the patriarch, "to the pope and toall Latin Christians, and seal your letters with the signet of youroffice as patriarch of Jerusalem. As a penance for my sins, I willtravel over Europe, I will describe everywhere the desolate conditionof the Holy City, and exhort princes and people to wrest it from theprofane hands of the infidels. "

[Illustration: _Mosque of Achmet, Constantinople_]

9. The letters were accordingly written, and the hermit set sail withthem from Joppa. Arriving in Italy he presented the documents to thepope, Urban II, a pupil and _protégé_ of Gregory VII, urging hisholiness to use his authority, as the head of Christendom, to set inmotion a scheme for regaining the birthplace of Christ. Enthusiasm iscontagious, and the pope appears to have caught it instantly from onewhose zeal was so unbounded. Giving the Hermit full powers, he senthim abroad to preach the holy war. Peter departed, going from town totown, and from village to village, and, in the language of thechroniclers, "traversing the whole of Europe in less than a year'stime. " His strange and wild aspect, his glittering eye, his shrilland unearthly eloquence, the grandeur of his theme, his patheticdescriptions of Jerusalem and the Christians there, producedeverywhere the most extraordinary sensations. "He set out, " says acontemporary historian, "from whence I know not, nor with whatpurpose; but we saw him passing through the towns and villages, everywhere preaching, and the people flocking round him, loading himwith gifts, and praising his sanctity with such eulogiums, that Inever remember having seen so great honors paid to any other man. Thepeople reverenced him so that they plucked the hairs from the mane ofhis mule, and kept them afterward as relics. Out of doors he generallywore a woolen tunic, with a brown mantle, which descended to hisheels. His arms and feet were bare, he ate little or no bread, butlived on fish and wine. "

10. Such being the success of the Hermit's mission, the pope showedhis approbation of the project by summoning in the year 1095 twocouncils. The first of these was held at Placentia in March;ambassadors from the Greek Emperor appeared to petition for aidagainst the Turks, and the members of the council were unanimous intheir support of the crusade. The second, the famous Council ofClermont, was held at the town of that name in Auvergne in the monthof November. It was in the midst of an extremely cold winter, and theground was covered with snow. During seven days the council sat withclosed doors, while immense crowds from all parts of France flockedinto the town, in the expectation that the pope himself would addressthe people. 

11. All the neighborhood presented the appearance of a vast camp. Issuing from the church in his full canonicals, surrounded by hiscardinals and bishops in all the splendor of ecclesiastical costume, the pope stood before the populace on a high scaffolding, erected forthe occasion, and covered with scarlet cloth. A brilliant array ofbishops and cardinals surrounded him, and among them, humbler in rankbut more important in the world's eye, the Hermit Peter, dressed inhis simple woolen gown. The pope's eloquent words touched every heart. He was interrupted by the united voice of the people shouting "Godwills it! God wills it!" Hushing the joyous tumult with a wave of hishand, the pontiff continued "Be they then your war-cry in the combat, for those words came from God. Let the army of the Lord, when itrushes upon its enemies, shout but that one cry, 'God wills it! Godwills it!' Let whoever is inclined to devote himself to this holycause wear on his breast or back the sign of the holy cross. " Fromthis time the red cross was the sacred emblem of the crusaders. 

THE FIRST CRUSADE. 

12. Following the Council of Clermont, preparations for invading theHoly Land began in almost every country of Europe. The clanging of thesmith's hammer, making or repairing armor, was heard in every village. All who had property of any description rushed to the mart to changeit for hard cash. The nobles mortgaged their estates, the farmerendeavored to sell his plow, and the artisan his tools to purchase asword for the deliverance of Jerusalem. Women disposed of theirtrinkets for the same purpose. During the spring and summer of 1096the roads teemed with crusaders, all hastening to the towns andvillages appointed as the rendevous of the district. Very few knewwhere Jerusalem was. Some thought it fifty thousand miles away, andothers imagined it but a month's journey; while at the sight of everytower or castle the children exclaimed "Is that Jerusalem?" Littleattempt at any organization was made, though the multitude had threeleaders. It is said that the first band, consisting of twenty thousandfoot, with only eight horsemen, were led by a Burgundian gentleman, called Walter the Penniless. They were followed by a rabble of fortythousand men, women, and children, led by Peter the Hermit, a medleyof all nations and languages. Next followed a band of fifteen thousandmen, mostly Germans, under a priest named Gottschalk. These threemultitudes led the way in the crusades, pursuing the same route, that, namely, which leads through Hungary and Bulgaria toward Asia Minor. 

13. Like their nominal leader, each of the followers of Walter thePenniless was poor to penury, and trusted for subsistence to thechances of the road. In Hungary they met with loud resistance from thepeople, whose houses they attacked and plundered, but in Bulgaria thenatives declared war against the hungry horde; they were dispersed andalmost exterminated. Some of the survivors retraced their steps; therest, among whom was Walter, reached Constantinople, where theyawaited the arrival of Peter and his companions. The Hermit, who hadthe same difficulties to contend with in marching through Hungary andBulgaria, reached Constantinople with his army greatly reduced, and ina most deplorable condition. Here he and Walter joined forces, theHermit assuming the superior command. They were hospitably received bythe emperor, but their riotous conduct soon wearied out his patience, and he was glad to listen to a proposal of the Hermit to furnish themwith the means of passing at once into Asia. The rabble accordinglycrossed the Bosphorus, and took up their quarters in Bethynia. Herethey became perfectly ungovernable, ravaging the country around, andcommitting incredible excesses; at length Peter, utterly disgusted anddespairing, left them to their own guidance and returned toConstantinople. The bravest of them were annihilated in a battlefought near Nice, Walter the Penniless falling with seven mortalwounds. Between two and three thousand alone escaped, brought back toConstantinople by the troops of Alexius, who rescued them from theTurks. The emperor dismissed them, with orders to return home, andthus ended the disastrous expedition of Walter the Penniless and Peterthe Hermit. 

14. The fifteen thousand Germans led by Gottschalk never reachedConstantinople, being slaughtered or dispersed during their passagethrough Hungary. Hungary was also fatal to another army of crusaders, the fourth in order, but greatly exceeding in numbers the other threeput together. This terrible horde, consisting of about two hundredthousand, swept through Germany committing horrible outrages, especially against the Jews, whom they murdered without mercy. Theywere preceded by a goose and a goat, to which they attributed divinepowers. As the rabble advanced, the Hungarians gave themselves up forlost, the king and nobles were preparing to flee, when the mass fellasunder of its own accord. Many were slain by the enraged Hungarians. Some escaped to the north, a few ultimately joined the succeedingbands of crusaders, but the majority perished. Thus, within a fewmonths, upward of a quarter of a million of human beings were sweptout of existence. And they had spent their lives, without oneimportant result having been accomplished, without one glorious feathaving been achieved. 

15. This was the worst paroxysm of the madness of Europe, and thispassed, her chivalry stepped upon the scene. Men of cool heads, matureplans, and invincible courage stood forward, to lead and direct notmore fanatical masses, but the gentry, yeomanry, and serfs of feudalEurope. These were the true crusaders. Altogether they formed sixarmies, marching separately, and at considerable intervals of time. First carne the army of Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, thepride of his age for all noble and knightly virtues, immortalized bythe poet Tasso. He had risen from a sick-bed to join the crusade, andsold his lordship to raise the necessary money; around his standardassembled many of the best knights of the age. In the month of August, 1096, they commenced their march, through Hungary and Bulgaria. 

16. Four other chiefs of the royal blood of Europe also assumed thecross, and led each his army to the Holy Land; Hugh, Count ofVermandois, brother of the king of France; Robert, Duke of Normandy, the elder brother of William Rufus; Robert, Count of Flanders, andBohemond, Prince of Tarentum, eldest son of the celebrated RobertGuiscard. With Bohemond, and second in command in the army, cameTancred, the favorite hero of all the historians of the crusade, soyoung, so valiant, so enthusiastic. There was not among them all, saysTasso, a greater warrior, nor any one of more courteous behavior, offairer countenance, or of loftier and more intrepid heart. The lastarmy was led by the haughty and resolute Count Raimond of Toulouse. 

17. To detail the progress of the various armies is unnecessary. Upward of six hundred thousand warriors of the West, beside amultitude of priests, women, and children, were at last actuallyencamped on Asiatic soil. It was literally a moving nation, in whichall languages were spoken, all costumes worn. There was thefair-haired son of the north, with broad, open forehead, mild blueeyes, sanguine complexion, and large frame; there the dark visagedsouthron, with his flashing glance and fiery soul; there was theknight in his armor, the priest in his robes, the foot-soldier in histough jerkin, the unkempt serf with his belt of rope. There werepawing horses, swearing grooms, carts full of provisions, sacks, groups of gossiping women, crowds of merry children. Under the brightsun of Asia, all was gaudy and brilliant. Spearpoints glittered, breast-plates and helmets gleamed, thousands of targets displayedtheir painted glories, pennons of blue, purple, and white streamedfrom every tent, while heavier flags flapped their sullen folds; andeverywhere, on shield, flag, helmet, tunic, and coat of mail, was seenblazoned the holy sign of the red cross. Walking through all these, heedless of the looks cast upon him, and hearing not the oft-repeatedbugle-blasts from all parts of the camp, might be seen a man of smallstature, thin and poorly clad, with down-cast face, wild, unsettledeye, and timid, nervous gait. It was the man who had created itall--Peter the Hermit. He had crossed from Constantinople with Godfreyof Bouillon. His revenge was near! On, on, then, to the Holy City!

18. Alas, the Holy City was yet far distant! Not much more than halftheir journey in point of space had been accomplished, and in point ofdifficulty and peril their march had little more than begun, for theyhad just entered the countries of the infidels. Months had to roll on, and many battles to be fought, ere the pinnacles of the Holy Cityshould greet their longing eyes. 

19. The route of the crusading armies lay in a southeasterlydirection, through Asia Minor, and then southward to Jerusalem, alongthe shores of the Levant. Their march along this route, counting fromthe time of their crossing into Asia Minor, May, 1097, to the timewhen they came in sight of Jerusalem and laid siege to it, June, 1099, occupied upward of two years. Countless were the dangers to which thecrusaders were subject in this trial. Of the many sieges two areespecially memorable, that of Nice and that of Antioch. 

20. The siege of Nice was the first exploit in which the crusadingarmies were engaged. During these six weeks the slaughter of theChristians, by the arrows of the Turkish garrison, and by the boltsand large stones which they discharged from mangonels and catapults, was immense. The city surrendered at last, not, however, to the Latinchiefs, but to an envoy of the Greek Emperor Alexius, who contrived toenter into communication with the besieged and induced them tocapitulate. Angry and dissatisfied, the crusaders left theirencampment and resumed their march, not in one mass, but in severalbodies. At length the scattered armies reunited for the siege ofAntioch toward the end of October, 1097. All the known means of attackwere put in operation; movable towers were constructed from which todischarge missiles into the city. The walls were battered, and thesallies of the besieged bravely met, still without any effectiveresult. At the end of ten days famine stared them in the face, soextravagant were they in the use of their stores. Pestilence joinedits ravages, and instead of the brave army of chivalry which had satdown before Antioch, was to be seen a crowd of gaunt and famishingcreatures, with scarcely a thought but that of procuring food. Multitudes died, desertions became numerous. 

21. The chiefs began to weary of the expedition, and, most disgracefulof all, Peter the Hermit turned his back on the enterprise, and hadactually fled several miles on his way home, when he was brought backby the soldiers of Tancred and forced to undergo a public reprimand. At length, after infinite sufferings on the part of the Christians, Antioch was taken on the 3d of June, 1098, by means of the treacheryof an Armenian captain, whom the Turks had intrusted with the commandof one of the towers, and who admitted a number of the crusadersduring a dark and stormy night. 

22. Imagination can not conceive a scene more dreadful than thatpresented by the devoted city of Antioch on that night of horror. Thecrusaders fought with a blind fury which fanaticism and sufferingalike incited. No quarter was shown. At daylight the massacre ceased, and the crusaders gave themselves up to plunder. They found gold, jewels, and rich fabrics in abundance, but of provisions little of anykind. Suddenly they were roused from their sloth and pleasure by theappearance before Antioch of an immense army, which the Persian caliphhad dispatched to sweep the Christian locusts from the face of theearth. Great was the alarm of the Christians when they saw thissplendid host of more than two hundred thousand men encamped aroundthe hills of Antioch. The corn and wine found in the city were soonexhausted; all the horrors of a second famine began. 

23. Many deserted and escaped over the walls, carrying the news of thesad condition of the Christians back toward Europe. The worstconsequence of these desertions was, that the Greek Emperor Alexius, who, hearing of the successes of the Latins, was on his march toassist the crusaders, was deterred from advancing, and returned toConstantinople. With increasing famine came a pestilence, so that in ashort time but sixty thousand remained of the three hundred thousandthat had invested Antioch. But this bitter extremity knit the leadersmore firmly together, and Bohemond, Godfrey, and Tancred swore neverto desert the cause while life lasted. 

24. It is said that belief in the remarkable fulfillment of a dreambrought hope once more to the disheartened crusaders. Peter Barthelmy, a priest of Provence, dreamed, he said, that Saint Andrew appeared tohim in the night, and informed him that underneath a certain spot inthe floor of the church of Saint Peter was buried the identical lancewith which the Roman soldiers pierced the side of Christ as he hung onthe cross. This relic, said the apparition, was to be the guarantee ofGod's presence and their guide to victory. Twelve persons were chosento conduct the search. A whole day was spent in vain, the workmen weretired out, and still no lance was found. At last Peter descended intothe pit and began to dig the loose earth. Suddenly a cry of joy washeard, and stretching himself to his full height, Peter handed up intothe eager fingers of those above an actual rusty lance-head. In aninstant it was noised abroad that the holy relic had been found. Whatremained now but to issue forth and discomfit the infidel host. 

25. The infidel host was discomfited. On the 28th of June, 1098, twohundred thousand Turks, in the full flush of health and strength, wererouted, outside the walls of Antioch, by a half-famished Christianarmy. Antioch was bestowed upon Bohemond, and it was resolved that thearmy should remain there to recruit before advancing toward Jerusalem. The tragical fate of Peter Barthelmy must be mentioned. Many of thecrusaders had begun to question the genuineness of the relic he hadfound. He was prevailed upon to submit to the ordeal of fire, andperished in the flames. From that moment the story of the relic lostcredit. 

26. It was on a lovely morning in the summer of 1099 that the fortythousand crusaders, who were all that remained of the vast army whichhad two years ago laid seige to Nice, were recompensed for all theirtoils by a sight of the Holy City, bathed in the splendor of easternsunshine. The name "Jerusalem" escaped from every lip; some leaped andshouted, some kneeled and prayed, some wept, some threw themselvesprostrate and kissed the earth, some gazed and trembled. "All had muchado, " says the quaint Fuller, "to manage so much gladness. "

27. Preparations for a siege were soon under way. The besiegers, whohad gained skill by their former attempts, employed all the methods ofattack that experience could suggest or courage execute, while thegarrison of forty thousand Turks, who maintained the city for theirmaster, the caliph of Egypt, resisted with determined obstinacy. Atlength, after a confession of sins by the whole army, and apenitential procession around the walls, a simultaneous attack wasmade with battering-rains, mangonels, and all manner of besiegingengines. At one quarter a huge wooden tower was wheeled close to thewalls, a movable bridge was let down, and, bounding across it, asoldier named Lutold was the first man to stand upon the battlements. Godfrey of Bouillon and a number of knights sprang after him, and theChristians were within Jerusalem. Meanwhile, at another part of thewall, Tancred and Robert of Normandy had shattered open a gate, andrushed in with their men; while at a third part of the city, Raimondof Toulouse effected an entrance for himself and his followers by thehelp of scaling-ladders. In an instant after, the banner of the crossfloated upon the walls of Jerusalem. The crusaders, raising once moretheir redoubtable war-cry, rushed on from every side, and the city wastaken. The battle raged for several hours, and the Christians gave noquarter. Peter the Hermit, who had remained so long under the veil ofneglect, was repaid that day for all his zeal and all his suffering. He was once more the idol of the army, but history is silentconcerning the remainder of his life. 

28. Eight days after the capture of the city, the Latin chiefsunanimously elected Godfrey of Bouillon king of Jerusalem. A newChristian state was thus founded in Syria, consisting at first oflittle more than the mere city of Jerusalem, but extending bysubsequent battles and conquests until it included the whole ofPalestine. A language resembling Norman-French was established in thiskingdom, and a code of feudal laws drawn up for its government. Theclergy also obtained their share of the conquest, Jerusalem wascreated into a patriarchate, and Bethlehem into a bishopric. Thefoundation of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in July, 1099, was theconsummation of the first crusade. 

29. A period of fifty years succeeded, during which time many battleswere fought with the Saracens of Syria and Egypt, the result of whichwas to strengthen the Latin state. No fewer than five hundred thousandpersons set out from Europe for Syria, incited by the news of thesuccess of the first crusade. The three centers from which theChristian power sought to spread itself through the Mussulmanpossessions were Jerusalem, Antioch, and Edessa. 

30. The very spirit of the crusade seemed to have died out. The LatinKingdom of Jerusalem had become, like any other kingdom of the period, a country in which men built houses, plowed land, made bargains, gavefeasts, etc. , drank, laughed, talked, quarreled, and went to law. Thefall of Edessa, the first conspicuous success of the Turks, came likea surprise upon the Latin population of Syria. An attempt was made bythe Christians to recover the city, but it failed, and the frontier ofSyria was open to invasion from the East. 

THE SECOND CRUSADE. 

31. The fall of Edessa, and the petitions of the people of Palestinefor aid, produced a sensation throughout Europe, and especially inFrance. Nor was an apostle wanting worthy to fill the place of Peter, and to summon the chivalry of Europe to a second crusade. Commissionedby Pope Eugenius for that purpose, the famous Saint Bernard, Abbot ofClairvaux in Champagne, traveled through France and Germany, exertingthe power of his marvelous eloquence in recruiting the armies of thecross. The chiefs of the second crusade were two of the most powerfulprinces of Europe, Louis VII, King of France, and Conrad III, Emperorof Germany. Under their command upward of one million two hundredthousand men, collected from all parts of Europe, marched towardPalestine in two great armies, early in 1147. 

32. Notwithstanding the vastness of the preparations, the expeditionwas a total failure. The events of the last fifty years had renderedthe policy of the Greek princes hostile to the crusades. ManuelComnenus, the grandson of Alexius, who now occupied the throne, suffered both armies to pass into Asia Minor, where, misled by Greekscouts, the army of Conrad was all but destroyed by the Turks, nearIconium, while the army of Louis, after undergoing infinite hardships, was wrecked in the defiles of the Pisidian mountains. The fragments ofthe two armies uniting made their way to Syria, where they co-operatedwith forces of the princes of Jerusalem and Antioch, in laying seigeto Damascus, but without effect. In 1149 Conrad and Louis returned toEurope, and the second crusade was at an end, having attained nothingbut the expenditure of more than a million of lives. 

THE THIRD CRUSADE. 

33. A period of forty years elapsed before Europe fitted out anothercrusade. Meanwhile the struggle between the Christian and the Turks inSyria was carried on without intermission. Noureddin, the son of theconqueror of Edessa, displayed a genius which astonished bothChristians and Turks. Keeping possession of Edessa, he aimed atextending his conquest at the expense of the Christians still further. For some time he was kept in check by the abilities of Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem. On his death, in 1162, his brother Amalric, farinferior to Baldwin in ability, succeeded to the throne. 

34. At this crisis, while Noureddin, the Sultan of Aleppo, andAmalric, the Christian King of Jerusalem, were the rival powers inSyria, occurred a circumstance which exercised considerable influenceon the subsequent course of events, and which makes necessary aretrospective glance. 

35. At the time of the first crusade Palestine was the scene of aviolent contest between the Turks, who had poured down from the North, conquering as they went, and the Fatimites of Egypt, who had possessedSyria for nearly a century. The Turks had at first been irresistible. The Fatimites, however, had been able to recover Jerusalem from thehands of their enemies, and held it when besieged by the Christians. Interrupted in their conflict with each other for the sovereignty ofPalestine, the Fatimites and Turks turned their arms with one accordagainst the invader. In the person of Noureddin the Turkish power wasnow increasing. The Fatimite dynasty of Egypt, meanwhile, had longbeen showing signs of decay, the caliphs having become mere tools inthe hands of their viziers. In 1163 one of these viziers, Shawer, finding himself expelled from his post by a rival, sought refuge atthe court of Aleppo, and applied to the sultan for assistance. Noureddin eagerly embraced an opportunity for obtaining a footing inEgypt, and sent two persons, Chyrkouh and his nephew Saladin, todisplace the usurping vizier and re-establish Shawer. They, however, usurped the government, and Shawer applied to the King of Jerusalem, Amalric, for assistance. Amalric in turn attempted usurpation, andagain the officers of Noureddin came to the aid of Shawer. The vizierpaid the penalty of his fickleness by losing his head, and his postwas occupied by Chyrkouh, who, while ruling Egypt as a vizier of theFatimite caliph, was in reality the lieutenant of Noureddin. 

36. On the death of Chyrkouh, Saladin was appointed to the viziership. The caliph fancied that he would now regain the control of his owndominions, but he little knew the character of his new vizier. Saladinsoon effected a revolution in Egypt, declared the Fatimite dynasty tobe at an end, and subjected the country once more to the nominalauthority of the Bagdad caliphs, whom Noureddin professed to reverenceas the supreme heads of the Mohammedan Empire. Nor did he stop here. He soon showed a disposition to shake off the supremacy of Noureddin, and the sultan of Aleppo was marching into Egypt to vindicate hisauthority, when he suddenly died in the year 1171. 

37. Saladin now saw the great obstacle to his ambition removed, andbegan to aim at realizing those schemes of sovereignty which Noureddinhad projected. The state of the Christian kingdom during the ten ortwelve years which followed directly favored his plans. Civildissensions arose which the keen eye of Saladin discovered, and, already master of all Syria, he resolved to complete his greatness bythe conquest of Palestine. Accordingly, when in the year 1157 it wasknown that he was on his march against Jerusalem, the Christiancrusaders saw the necessity of abandoning their dissensions anduniting cordially against the invader. Town after town surrendered tothe victorious Saracen, and, in October, 1187, Jerusalem itself, afterfourteen days' defense, was obliged to submit to his mercy. Theconduct of Saladin on this occasion was more generous than might havebeen expected. A moderate ransom was fixed for every individual, onthe payment of which he was at liberty to remove with his goods towhatever place he chose. To the Christian ladies, Saladin's conductwas courteous in the extreme, so that it became a remark among theLatins of Palestine that Saladin was a barbarian only in name. 

38. Thus, after ninety years, was the Holy City again inhabited by theinfidel, and all the fruits of the first crusade lost, as it seemed tothe world. Saladin now possessed the whole of Palestine, with thesingle exception of the city of Tyre, which was gallantly defended byConrad, Marquis of Montferrat. 

39. The epidemic frenzy which had been gradually cooling was nowextinct, or nearly so, and the nations of Europe looked with coldindifference upon the armaments of their princes. But chivalry was nowin all its glory, and it continued to supply armies for the Holy Land. Poetry more than religion inspired the Third Crusade. The knights andtheir retainers listened with delight to the martial and amatorystrains of the ministrels, minnesingers, and troubadors. Men foughtnot so much for the holy sepulchre as to gain glory for themselves inthe best and only field where glory could be obtained. They fought notas zealots, but as soldiers, not for religion, but for honor. 

40. The first to take the field was the illustrious German emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. Marching from Ratisbon at the bead of amagnificent army in 1189, he fought his way through the Greekdominions, advanced through Asia Minor, conquering as he went, and wasalready on the borders of Palestine, when, imprudently bathing, he wascut off in the seventieth year of his age. His army suffered greatlyfrom the difficulties of their march and the attacks of the Saracens. The wrecks of it under Frederick's son, the Duke of Swabia, proved amost valuable reinforcement to the Christians in Syria, who had bythis time rallied and combined against the domination of Saladin, laying siege to the city of Acre on the sea-coast, a town of so muchimportance that the possession of it was considered almost equivalentto being master of the whole country. 

41. Upon this siege, commenced in August, 1189, was concentrated allthe force at the command of the Christians in Palestine, the remnantsof the two great military orders the Knights Templars and the KnightsHospitallers, the survivors of Frederick's army, together with suchbodies of crusaders as were continually arriving from Europe by sea. Guy de Lusignan was the commander of the besieging forces, and soskillfully was his army fortified that Saladin was unable to dislodgehim. For two-and-twenty months the siege continued, and manyengagements had taken place between the Christian army and that ofSaladin, which occupied the mountains to the south, but withoutvisible advantage on either side. 

42. Such was the position of affairs when, early in the summer of1191, Philip, of France, and Richard Coeur de Lion, of England, arrived with their fleets. The struggle was soon over, and on the 12thof July, 1191, Acre surrendered to the Christians. Had the crusadersbeen united among themselves, the fall of this city might have beenbut preliminary to the recovery of the whole country. The rivalry ofthe kings of France and England, however, prevented their cordialco-operation, and, not long after the capture of Acre, Philip ruinedthe cause of the crusade by returning to Europe. 

43. After gaining many important successes against Saladin, andearning for himself the reputation of the most valiant knight of theage, Richard, involved in disputes with the other chiefs of thecrusade, and anxious to revisit England, where his presence wasbecoming daily more necessary, was glad to conclude an honorablepeace. Saladin, on his part, was equally willing to end a strugglewhich had cost him so much. A truce was concluded for three years andeight months, during which Christian pilgrims were to enjoy theliberty of visiting Jerusalem without hindrance. 

44. Saladin entertained many Christians in his own palace, from whichthey returned, their tongues laden with praises of the noble infidel. Richard and Saladin never met, but each admired the prowess andnobleness of soul of his rival. 

45. The Christians and Moslems no longer looked upon each other asbarbarians, to whom mercy was a crime. Each host entertained thehighest admiration for the bravery and magnanimity of the other, andin their occasional truces met upon the most friendly terms. WhenRichard, the lion-hearted king of England, lay in his tent consumed bya fever, there came into the camp camels laden with snow, sent by hisenemy, the Sultan Saladin, to assuage his disease, the homage of onebrave soldier to another. But, when Richard was returning to England, it was by a Christian prince that he was treacherously seized andsecretly confined. 

46. It was on the 25th of October, 1192, that Richard set sail forEurope. Forced by stress of weather to land at Zara, he made theattempt to journey through the continent, and was arrested and held aprisoner while passing through the dominions of his enemy and formerfellow-crusader, the archduke of Austria, and remained in prison inVienna for several months. He returned to England in 1194, and died in1199. His great antagonist, Saladin, had died in 1193, not long afterthe Christian armies left Palestine. At the end of the crusade, theCrescent waved as defiantly as ever over the land of Israel. 

THE FOURTH CRUSADE. 

47. The fourth crusade, from 1195 to 1198, led by Henry VI of Germany, was equally a failure. There were gained some brilliant victories, butdissensions divided the armies, and at last a truce was made with theMohammedans. It is true that these victories made the crusadersmasters of the sea-coast, but, when the armies departed, the Christianking found himself in possession of cities which he was unable togarrison, and which he felt would be held only by the sufferance ofthe enemy. 

THE FIFTH CRUSADE. 

48. In the year 1203 a new crusade was set on foot, commanded byseveral of the most powerful nobles of Italy and France. Instead ofmarching at once against the infidels, the crusaders sufferedthemselves to be drawn into a contest with the Greek empire. Just atthis time the emperor of the Greeks had been deposed and deprived ofhis eyes by his own brother. His son, Alexius, fled to Europe, andpetitioned the assistance of the Latin princes against the usurper, promising in return to use his efforts to bring about a union of theGreek with the Latin church, and to employ all the resources of hiskingdom against the infidels of Syria. The temptation of such aprospect could not be resisted; the crusaders marched into Greece, laid siege to Constantinople, and took the city by storm A. D. 1204, thereby establishing Latin Christianity in the eastern metropolis, butat what a cost. Neither the works of God nor man were respected by theinvaders; they vented their brutal ferocity upon the one, andsatisfied their avarice upon the other. "In St. Sophia, the silver wasstripped from the pulpit, an exquisite and highly-prized table ofoblation was broken in pieces, the sacred chalices were turned intodrinking-cups, the gold fringe was ripped off the veil of thesanctuary. Asses and horses were led into the churches to carry offthe spoil. 

49. "Many beautiful bronze pieces, above all price as works of art, were broken into pieces to be sold as old metal. The finely chiseledmarble was also destroyed by the same spirit of vandalism. Twothousand people were put to the sword; had there been less plunder, the slaughter would in all probability have been much greater. "

50. For fifty years the empire was ruled over by the Franks. Meanwhilethe knights, plunged in the luxury of the city, heeded not the appealsfrom Palestine, but allowed the besieged and suffering, for whoserescue they had enlisted, to linger and die without an effort on theirbehalf. Moved to desperation, in this emergency, the Christians sentto Europe a heart-rending cry for help. 

THE SIXTH CRUSADE. 

51. The urgent appeal from Palestine caused Pope Innocent III toearnestly preach a new crusade, and he crowned his labors and appealswith his famous exclamation, "Sword, sword, start from thy scabbard, and sharpen thyself to kill. " Though the many disastrous andfruitless expeditions had so dampened the ardor of men that they gavelittle heed to his appeals, the zeal of the young was kindled for thecause to which their elders seemed so indifferent. 

52. The children of Germany and France caught the madness of the hour, and resolved upon a crusade of their own. Inspired by the preaching ofa fanatical priest named Nicholas, twenty thousand boys of the averageage of twelve years assembled at Cologne. They came from all ranks oflife, and the heir of the proud noble marched side by side with theson of the humblest peasant. Sisters, priests, and servants joined thethrong, swelling the numbers and adding to the confusion. 

53. Their journey began in July, 1212, and their destination wasPalestine, and they were to go by way of Rome, so as to obtain theassistance and the blessing of the Pope. In their ignorance these poorchildren thought that Palestine was but a few miles distant, andbefore the close of the first day's march excited voices were heardasking if the holy sepulchre was in sight. Slowly onward the multitudemoved up the Rhine, and over the Mont Cenis pass of the Alps, intoItaly. 

54. But day by day hearts became sick with continued disappointment, and little feet weary with the never-ending miles which stretchedbefore. The weak and the sickly were the first to give out, and, though they struggled to keep their places in the ranks, one by onethey fell by the wayside to die alone, with no loving hands to soothetheir last moments or to moisten their parched lips with a drop ofcold water. The path of the youthful crusaders might be traced by themarks left by thousands of bleeding feet and by the victims stretchedin death along the course. 

55. Death, disease, and desertion soon thinned their ranks to such anextent that only one half of their original number lived to reach thesummit of the Alps and look down into Italy. The journey across themountains was a fearful one. They had left home in summer, when theirraiment was thin; it had become scanty and ragged in the long anddusty march, so that they were exposed to the full severity of thecold. The rocks cut their shoeless feet, but nothing remained but topress onward or to lie down and die. 

56. Only seven thousand lived to reach Genoa, where they were receivedcoldly, but where they were at last permitted to stay a week to rest. Then again onward through the plains of Italy, until all that survivedmade their way to Rome. Pope Innocent partook of the fanaticism whichaffected all Europe, but the sight of these little victims of theuniversal delusion, reduced to mere spectres by hardships, disease, and famine, aroused in him an unexpected human sympathy. He blessedthe children, forbade them to go farther, and when rested sent themback to their German homes. 

57. The winter had passed and the spring had come again before the fewsurvivors reached their beloved fatherland. Day by day there camestraggling into the German cities groups of these victims, their headsdrooping for shame, their eyes red with tears, their clothing in rags. Many died upon realizing the last hope which had sustained them solong. Sad-eyed mothers looked in vain among the thin ranks for theirbeloved ones, and time only soothed the untold misery of this wildenterprise. 

58. Soon after the departure of the German children on their crusadeunder Nicholas, another of about equal numbers set out from Cologne bya different route. They crossed the Alps by the pass of St. Gothard, and descended into Eastern Italy. Keeping along the coast of theAdriatic, they at last came to the southern front of the peninsula, and could go no farther. They met with a fate similar to that of thefirst band, with the additional horror that many of them were seizedby Turkish pirates and carried away into life-long slavery. The fewwho survived to reach Southern Italy embarked on a vessel, and neverwere heard of more. No messenger even returned to the vine-clad hillsof the Rhine to report the fate of the little ones, and they alldisappeared from the aching gaze of anxious mothers as though theearth had swallowed them up. 

59. The third children's crusade set out from France under theleadership of a bare-footed friar named Stephen. They numbered thirtythousand, and their first destination was Marseilles, whence they wereto take shipping for Palestine through means directly provided by theLord. Through the broad fields of France, during the hot summer days, the crusaders marched, every mile marked by victims; and, when thewhite walls of the city of their destination became visible, theirnumbers were reduced one half. 

60. The charity of Marseilles was taxed to its utmost to provide forthe fifteen thousand mouths open to receive it. Through weary weeksthe children waited in vain for the promised aid from the Lord. Despair was more fatal than famine, and soon two thirds of those whohad reached the city perished. When their numbers were reduced to fivethousand, apparently the promise of Divine aid was fulfilled. Twowealthy and benevolent merchants volunteered to send the children onto their destination. Seven ships were prepared, and into these thefive thousand crowded, believing their troubles were at an end. 

61. The ships sailed out of port, freighted with mother love andreligious blessings. To anxious eyes that watched their departure, their white sails, lessening in the distance, wafted back messages ofhope and assurance. At the dawn of another day the last speck haddisappeared, and the blue waves of the Mediterranean rolledtranquilly, as if jealously guarding the secrets of fate. But timewent on. Homeward-bound vessels, direct from the scene of conflict, saw the precious fleet. News of stern conflicts with the infidels wasbrought by wandering palmers; but from sailor merchant, from peasantwarrior, and from noble, scarred with Saracenic wounds, there was adeath-like silence in regard to the little wanderers. Streaming eyesfixed upon the East looked in vain until all tears were quenched indeath. 

62. Eighteen years passed since the children's fleet sailed out ofEuropean life. Then a vague rumor of treachery began to circulate, and, little by little, the details came out of one of the most inhumancrimes that ever shocked the hearts of men. The benevolent merchantswho furnished the ships had sold the children to the barbarousMoslems, and the course of the fleet was turned from east to south. Onthe second day out a great storm arose, and two of the shipsfoundered, and all on board perished. A more horrible fate awaited thesurvivors. Landing in a city of the Moors in northern Africa, theywere conducted to a secure prison, and from the gloomy portals theypassed out into distant and perpetual slavery. One by one the captivesdied, some by disease, some by cruelty, others passed away in old age. At length all dropped their weary burdens, and their toils and sorrowsended. Not one of the hundreds that sailed out of Marseilles on thatsunny afternoon ever saw Europe again. Rarely in the history of theworld has a story in real life been freighted with so much woe as fellto the lot of the victims of the strange madness which swept overEurope less than seven hundred years ago. Peace to their memories!

63. At last an army was organized, and Innocent announced that hehimself would lead the host to the defense of the holy sepulchre; buthis death intervened before the project was ripe. Andrew, king ofHungary, was the only monarch who had leisure or inclination to leavehis dominions. He led the army to Palestine and defeated the Saracens, but failed to follow up his victory, and soon after abandoned theenterprise. The Duke of Austria, who succeeded him as leader, directedthe whole energy of the crusade against Egypt; and Damietta, whichcommanded the river Nile, was chosen as the first point of attack. Finding themselves unable to successfully defend the city, the Moslemsoffered to yield the whole of Palestine to the Christians upon thecondition of the evacuation of Egypt. With a blindness almostincredible these terms were refused, and a last attack made on thewalls of Damietta. The besieged made but slight resistance, and theChristians entered the city, to find out of seventy thousand but threethousand remaining, so fearful had been the scourge of plague andfamine. Several months were spent in Damietta. The climate eitherweakened the frames or obscured the understandings of the Christians, for after their conquest they remained inactive until the Moslemsrecuperated their army and were able to recapture Damietta and expelthe Crusaders from Egypt. 

64. With a view to the recovery of the Holy Land, Frederick II, ofGermany, had been married to Iolante, the heiress of the kingdom ofJerusalem. His early life was spent in Sicily, in familiar intercoursewith Jews and Arabs, and Sicily was to the last the favored portion ofhis dominion. The emperor's court was given up to unpardonablefrivolities in the eyes of Pope Gregory IX, one of whose firstpontifical acts was to summon Frederick to a new crusade. The emperorpaid little heed to the aged Pope's exhortations and commands, postponing from time to time the period of his departure. He embarkedat last, but in ten days returned. The Pope was not to be trifledwith, and pronounced his excommunication. Frederick treated it withcontempt, and appealed to Christendom to sustain him. For this beunderwent a more tremendous excommunication, but his partisans in Romeraised an insurrection and expelled the Pope. 

65. And now Frederick set sail of his own accord on his crusadingexpedition. On reaching the Holy Land he was received with joy by theknights and pilgrims, but the clergy held aloof from him as under theban of the Church. He negotiated privately with the Sultan of Egypt. The Christian camp was thronged with Saracens. The emperor wore aSaracen dress. In his privacy he did not hesitate to say, "I came nothere to deliver the Holy City, but to maintain my estimation among theFranks. " To the Sultan he appealed: "Out of your goodness surrenderto me Jerusalem as it is, that I may be able to lift up my head amongthe kings of Christendom. " Accordingly, the city was surrendered tohim. The Pope repudiated the transaction. 

66. While the emperor proclaimed his successes to Europe, the popedenounced them. Frederick crowned himself at Jerusalem, being unableto find any ecclesiastic who dared to perform the ceremony, anddeparted from the Holy Land. He prepared to enter on his conflict withthe pontiff, and drew over to his side the general sentiment ofEurope; the Pope was made to give way, and peace proclaimed. Thetreaty, which closed the sixth crusade, was for ten years. 

THE SEVENTH CRUSADE. 

67. On neither side probably was the truce strictly kept, and theinjuries done to pilgrims on their way from Acre to Jerusalem werealleged as a sufficient reason for sending out the expedition headedby Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of the English Henry III, andafterward King of the Romans. This expedition may be regarded as theseventh in the list of crusades, and deserves notice as having beenbrought to an end, like that of Frederick, by a treaty, in 1240. Theterms of the latter covenant were even more favorable to theChristians, but, two years later, the Latin power, such as it was, wasswept away by the sword of Korasmians, pushed onward by the hordes ofJenghiz Khan. The awful inroad was alleged by Pope Innocent IV asreason for summoning Christendom again to the rescue of the Holy Land. 

THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 

68. Nearly seven years passed away before the French king, Louis IX, was able to set sail for Egypt. The royal saint, who lives for us inthe quaint and graphic account of his seneschal Joinville, may withtruth be said to have been animated by a spirit of devotion andself-sacrifice. Intolerant in theory and bigoted in language, Louishad that true charity which would make him succor his enemies not lessthan his friends. Nor was his bravery less signal than his gentleness. His dauntless courage saved his army from complete destruction atMansourah in 1249, but his offer to exchange Damietta for Jerusalemwas rejected, and in the retreat, during which they were compelled tofight at desperate disadvantage, Louis was taken prisoner. With serenepatience he underwent suffering, for which the Saracens, so Joinvilletells us, frankly confessed that they would have renounced Mahommed;and, when the payment of his ransom set him free, he made a pilgrimagein sackcloth to Nazareth in 1250. As a general he achieved nothing, but his humiliation involved no dishonor; and the genuineness of hisfaith, his devotion, and his love had been fully tested in the furnaceof affliction. 

69. The crusading fire was now rapidly burning itself out. In the Westthere was nothing to awaken again the enthusiasm which had beenstirred by Peter the Hermit and St. Bernard, while in Palestine itselfthe only signs of genuine activity were furnished by the antagonismbetween the religious orders there. The quarrels of Templars andHospitallers led to a pitched battle in 1259, in which almost all theTemplars were slain. 

THE NINTH CRUSADE. 

70. Some eight years later the tidings that Antioch had been taken bythe infidels revived in St. Louis the old yearning for the rescue ofthe holy places. Cheered by the sympathy of Pope Clement IV, heembarked with an army of sixty thousand in 1270, but a storm drove hisships to Sardinia, and thence they sailed for Tunis. They encamped onthe site of Carthage, when a plague broke out. The saintly king wasamong the victims, and the truest of all crusaders died. In thefollowing year Edward, of England, reached Acre, took Nazareth--theinhabitants of which he massacred--fell sick, and during his sicknessnarrowly escaped being murdered by an assassin sent by the Emir ofJoppa. Having made a peace for nine years, he returned to Europe, andthe ninth and last crusade was at an end. 

71. The after fate of the Holy Land may be briefly told: TheChristians, unmindful of their past sufferings and of the jealousneighbors they had to deal with, first broke the truce by plunderingsome Egyptian traders, near Margat. The Sultan revenged the outrage bytaking possession of Margat, and war once more raged between the twonations. Tripoli and the other cities were captured in succession, until at last Acre was the only city of Palestine remaining to theChristians. 

72. The Grand Master of the Templars collected his small and devotedband, and prepared to defend to the death the last possession of theorder. Europe was deaf to his cry, the numbers of the foe wereoverwhelming, and devoted bravery was of no avail. In the disastroussiege the Christians were all but exterminated. The Grand Master fellat the head of his knights, pierced by many wounds. Seven Templars andas many Hospitallers alone escaped from the dreadful carnage. Thevictorious Moslems then set fire to the city, and the rule of theChristians in Palestine was brought to a close forever. 

73. Kingsley ably summarizes the effects of the crusades as follow:"Egypt was still the center of communication between the two greatstations of the Moslem power; and, indeed, as Mr. Lane has shown us inhis most valuable translation of the 'Arabian Nights, ' possessed apeculiar life and character of its own. 

74. "It was the rash object of the crusaders to extinguish that life. Palestine was first their point of attack, but the later crusadersseem to have found, like all the rest of the world, that the destiniesof Palestine could not be separated from those of Egypt, and toDamietta accordingly was directed that last disastrous attempt of St. Louis. The crusaders failed utterly of the object at which they aimed. They succeeded in an object of which they never dreamed; for in thosecrusades the Moslem and the Christian had met face to face, and foundthat both were men, that they had a common humanity, a common eternalstandard of nobility and virtue. So the Christian knights went homehumbler and wiser men, when they found in the Saracen enemies the samegenerosity, truth, mercy, chivalrous self-sacrifice, which theyfancied their own peculiar possession; and, added to that, acivilization and a learning which they could only admire and imitate. And, thus, from the era of the crusades, a kindlier feeling sprang upbetween the Crescent and the Cross, till it was again broken by thefearful invasions of the Turks through Eastern Europe. 

75. "The learning of the Moslem, as well as their commerce, began topour rapidly into Christendom, both from Spain, Egypt, and Syria; andthus the crusaders were, indeed, rewarded according to their deeds. They took the sword and perished by the sword. But the truly nobleelement in them, the element which our hearts and reasons recognizeand love, in spite of all the folly and fanaticism of the crusades, whensoever we read 'Ivanhoe' or the 'Talisman, ' the element of loyalfaith and self-sacrifice, did not go unrequited. 

76. "They learned wider, juster views of man and virtue, which I cannot help believing must have had great effect in weakening in theirminds the old, exclusive, bigoted notions, and in paving the way forthe great outburst of free thought and the great assertion of thedignity of humanity which the fifteenth century beheld. They opened apath for that influx of scientific knowledge which has produced inafter centuries the most enormous effects on the welfare of Europe, and made life possible for millions who would otherwise have been pentwithin the narrow bounds of Europe to devour each other in thestruggle for life and bread!"

CHAPTER III. 

_DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. _

1. While the great sovereigns of Europe were busy in fighting theMoslems in Palestine, they did not entirely neglect affairs at home. Some of them were very good rulers, protecting their subjects andmaintaining good order, and others were tyrannical and imposed allsorts of taxes and heavy burdens upon the people. Up among the Alps, where the country is made up of rough, rocky mountains and narrowvalleys, lived a people who were practically free. They lived inlittle communities, each one of which elected its own magistrate orgovernor, and made its own laws. The region was so poor and rough thatthe neighboring kings little cared to get possession of it, and theAlpine dwellers had a greater amount of freedom than any other peopleof Europe. The country was divided into little separate communities, one of which was called Schwytz, and this afterward gave the name tothe whole country--Switzerland. 

2. This country of the Swiss was really a part of the German empire, but the emperors had extended their rule over the lower parts of thecountry, leaving the forest cantons free. And a brave, courageous, andindustrious people grew up there. No pauper-house among the Alps, forevery able-bodied person worked, and no body tried to rob his neighborof his honest earnings. They were a strong athletic race, and themonarchs of the surrounding countries were glad to secure Swisssoldiers, for it was said that the Swiss never deserted. In 1298, while Wallace was struggling for freedom in Scotland, Albert ofAustria, the second of the house of Hapsburg, resolved to getpossession of the free forest cantons. He observed great secrecy incarrying out his designs, and it was not until a tax-gatherer orbailiff was permanently established in the country, supported byAustrian soldiers, that the people awakened to their danger. The storythat follows is one that all true Swiss delight to believe, and, though it may not be true in regard to names and details, yet as arecord of the main incidents of history it is substantially correct. 

3. The first Austrian bailiff was Hermann Gessler, who built a strongfortress at Küssnacht, in Uri. At first he professed great love forthe people, but when he became firmly established he threw off themask, and showed himself to be a cruel, cowardly, mean-spiritedtyrant. He was both vain and greedy, and he exacted both homage andtribute from the surrounding peasantry. Property was seized by thesoldiers, and, should the owner venture to remonstrate, he wasmercilessly beaten or killed on the spot. Complaints to the governorwere followed by fresh outrages, until no one, even in the mostsecluded valleys, considered himself safe. Here tyranny as usualoverstepped the bounds of safety. The free spirit, born of toil andprivations in the mountain-fastnesses, would not long endure theoutrages to which the people were subjected. A leader only was neededto induce a general revolt, and this leader was found in the person ofWilliam Tell. 

[Illustration: _Lake Lucerne_]

4. William Tell, according to the received accounts, was born atBürgelen, a secluded hamlet in the canton of Uri, near the lake ofLucerne, about the year 1275; and, like his forefathers, was theproprietor of a cottage, a few small fields, a vineyard, and anorchard. When William had reached the age of twenty, his father issaid to have died, bequeathing to him these humble possessions. Endowed by nature with a lofty and energetic mind, Tell wasdistinguished also by great physical strength and manly beauty. He wastaller by a head than most of his companions; he loved to climb therugged rocks of his native mountains in pursuit of the chamois, and tosteer his boat across the lake in time of storm and of danger. Theload of wood which he could bear upon his shoulders was double thatwhich any ordinary man could support. 

5. With other sources of happiness, Tell combined that of possessingan intimate friend, who dwelt amid the rocky heights separating Urifrom Unterwalden. Arnold Auderhalden, of Melchthal, was thisassociate. Although similar in many salient points of character, therewas still an essential difference between the two men. Arnold, ofMelchthal, while he loved his country with an ardor equal to that ofTell, and was capable of very great actions, was not prepared for muchpatient suffering or long endurance of wrong. Tell, whose temperamentwas more calm, and whose passions were more influenced by reason thanimpulse, only succeeded in restraining his friend's impulsivecharacter by the stern force of example. Meantime the two friendspassed their days in the enjoyment of one another's society, visitingat intervals each other's humble residence. Tell foresaw, on thearrival of Gessler, many of the misfortunes which must inevitablyfollow his iron rule, and without explaining his views even to Arnold, of Melchthal, without needlessly alarming his family, endeavored todevise some means, not of bearing the yoke patiently, but ofdelivering his country from the galling oppression which Albert hadbrought upon it. The hero felt satisfied that the evil deeds of thegovernor would sooner or later bring just retribution upon him; forthis, and many other reasons, therefore, despite his own secretwishes, when Arnold poured out his fiery wrath in the ear of hisfriend, he listened calmly, and, to avoid inflaming him more, avowednone of his own views, or even feelings, in return. 

6. One evening, however, William Tell and his wife sat in front oftheir cottage, watching their son amusing himself amid the flocks, when the former grew more thoughtful and sad than usual. PresentlyTell spoke, and for the first time imparted to his wife some of hismost secret designs. While the conversation was still proceeding, theparents saw their son rush toward them crying for help, and shoutingthe name of old Melchthal. As he spoke, Arnold's father appeared insight, led by his grand-child, and feeling his way with a stick. Telland his wife hastened forward, and discovered, to their inconceivablehorror, that their friend was blind, his eyes having been put out withhot irons. The hero of Bürgelen, burning with just indignation, calledon the old man to explain the fearful sight, and also the cause ofArnold's absence. 

7. It appeared that that very morning the father, son, andgrand-daughter were in the fields loading a couple of oxen withproduce for the market-town, when an Austrian soldier presentedhimself, and, having examined the animals, which appeared to suit hisfancy, ordered their owner to unyoke the beasts preparatory to hisdriving them off. Adding insolence to tyranny, he further remarkedthat such clod-poles might very well draw their own plows and carts. Arnold, furious at the man's daring impertinence, was only restrainedby his father's earnest entreaties from sacrificing the robber on thespot; nothing, however, could prevent him from aiming a blow at thesoldier, which broke two of his fingers. 

8. The enraged soldier then retreated; but old Melchthal, who wellknew the character of Gessler, immediately forced Arnold, much againsthis inclination, to go and conceal himself for some days in the Righi. Scarcely had Arnold departed in this direction, when a detachment ofguards from Altorf surrounded their humble tenement, and dragged oldMelchthal before Gessler, who ordered him to give up his son. Furiousat the refusal which ensued, the tyrant commanded the old man's eyesto be put out, and then sent him forth blind to deplore hismisfortunes. 

9. Tell heard the story of Melchthal in silence, and, when he hadfinished, inquired the exact spot of his son's concealment. The fatherreplied that it was in a particular cavern of Mount Righi, the desertrocks of which place are unknown to the emissaries of the governor, and there he had promised to remain until he received his parent'spermission to come forth. This Tell requested might be grantedimmediately; and, turning to his son, ordered him to start at once forthe Righi with a message to Arnold. Walter obeyed gladly; and, providing himself with food, and receiving private instructions fromhis father, went on his journey under cover of the night. 

10. Tell himself then threw around his own person a cloak ofwolf-skin, seized his quiver full of sharp arrows, and, taking histerrible bow, which few could bend, in hand, bade adieu to his wifefor a few days, and took his departure in an opposite direction fromthat pursued by his son. It was quite dawn when Walter reached theRighi, and a slight column of blue smoke speedily directed him to thespot where Arnold lay concealed. The intrusion at first startled thefugitive; but, recognizing Tell's son, he listened eagerly to hisdismal story, the conclusion of which roused in him so much fury thathe would have rushed forth at once to assassinate Gessler had notWalter restrained him. 

11. Schooled by Tell, he informed him that his father was engaged inpreparing vengeance for the tyrant's crime, being at that moment withWerner Stauffacher concerting proper measures of resistance. "'Go, 'said my father, 'and tell Arnold of this new villany of thegovernor's, and say that it is not rage which can give us justrevenge, but the utmost exertion of courage and prudence. I leaveSchwytz to bid Werner arm his canton: let Melchthal go to Stautz andprepare the men of Unterwalden for the outbreak; having done this, lethim meet me, with Fürst and Werner, in the field of Grütli!'"

12. Arnold, scarcely taking time to refresh himself with food, sentWalter on his homeward journey, while he started for Stautz. Walter, when alone, turned his steps toward Altorf, where unfortunately, andunknown to himself, he came into the presence of Gessler, to whom heuttered somewhat hard things about the state of the country, being ledto commit himself by the artful questions of the tyrant, whoimmediately ordered the lad into confinement, with strict injunctionsto the guards to seize whomsoever should claim him. 

13. Meanwhile, certain doubts and fears, from he knew not what cause, arose in the mind of Gessler, and struck him with a presentiment thatall was not right. He imagined that the people wore in their looksless abject submission to his authority, and, the better to satisfyhimself of the correctness or erroneousness of this view, he commandedBerenger to erect at dawn of day, in the market-place of Altorf, apole, on the point of which he was to place the ducal cap of Austria. An order was further promulgated, to the effect that every one passingnear or within sight of it should make obeisance, in proof of hishonor and fealty to the duke. 

14. Numerous soldiers under arms were directed to surround the place, to keep the avenues, and to compel the passers-by to bend with properrespect to the emblem of the governing power of the three cantons. Gessler likewise determined that whoever should disobey the mandateshould be accused of disaffection, and treated accordingly; a measurewhich promised both to discover the discontented, and furnishsufficient grounds for their punishment. Numerous detachments oftroops, among whom money had been previously distributed, were thenplaced around to see that his commands were scrupulously obeyed. History scarcely records another instance of tyranny so galling andhumiliating to the oppressed, and so insolent on the part of itsauthor. 

15. The proceedings of Tell in the interval were of the deepestconcern to the country. Having arrived within the territory ofSchwytz, and at the village of Stainea, he called at the house ofWerner, and, being admitted, threw at his feet a heavy bundle oflances, arrows, cross-bows, and swords. "Werner Stauffacher, " criedTell, "the time is come for action!" and without a moment's delay heinformed his friend of all that had passed, dwelling minutely on everydetail. And, when he had at length finished, the cautious Werner couldrestrain his wrath no longer, but exclaimed, clasping the hero's hand, "Friend, let us begin; I am ready!" After further brief conference, they, by separate ways, carried round arms to their friends in thetown and neighboring villages. Many hours were thus consumed; and, when their weapons were at last distributed, they both returned toStauffacher's house, snatched some slight refreshment, and then spedon their way to Grütli, accompanied by ten of their most triedadherents. 

16. The lake of Lucerne was soon reached, and a boat procured. Werner, perceiving the furious tempest, inquired of Tell if his skill wouldenable him to struggle against the storm. "Arnold awaits us!" criedWilliam; "and the fate of our country depends on this interview!" Withthese words he leaped into the boat, Werner jumped after him, and therest followed. Tell cast loose the agitated vessel, seized the tiller, and, hoisting sail, the little craft flew along the waves. 

17. Presently, it is said, the wind moderated, and ere they reachedthe opposite side had ceased altogether--a phenomenon common in thesemountain lakes. The boat was now made fast, and the conspiratorshastened to the field of Grütli, where, at the mouth of a cavern ofthe same name, Arnold and Walter Fürst awaited them, each with tenother companions. Tell allowed no consideration of natural feeling tosilence the calls of duty, but at once came to the point. He firstgave a brief sketch of the state of the country under the Austrianbailiffs, and, having shown to the satisfaction of his companions thenecessity for immediate and combined action, is related to have added:"We may have our plans frustrated by delay, and the time has come foraction. I ask only a few days for preparation. Unterwalden and Schwytzare armed. Three hundred and fifty warriors are, I am assured, ready. I will remain in Altorf, and, as soon as I receive tidings from Fürst, will fire a huge pile of wood near my house. At this signal let allmarch to the rendezvous, and, when united, we will pour down uponAltorf, where I will then strive to rouse the people!"

18. This plan of the campaign was agreed to; and it was furtherresolved that, in the enterprise upon which they were now embarked, noone should be guided by his own private opinion, nor ever forsake hisfriends; that they should jointly live or jointly die in defense ofthe common cause; that each should in his own vicinity promote theobject in view, trusting that the whole nation would one day havecause to bless their friendly union; that the Count of Hapsburg shouldbe deprived of none of his lands, vassals, or prerogatives; that thefreedom which they had inherited from their fathers they weredetermined to assert, and to hand down to their children untainted andundiminished. Then Stauffacher, Fürst, and Melcthal, and the otherconspirators, stepped forward, and, raising their hands, swore thatthey would die in defense of that freedom. After this solemn oath, andafter an agreement that New Year's Day should be chosen for theoutbreak, unless, in the meantime, a signal fire should arouse theinhabitants on some sudden emergency, the heroes separated. Arnoldreturned to Stautz, Werner to Schwytz, while Tell and Fürst took theirway to Altorf. The sun already shone brightly as Tell entered thetown, and he at once advanced into the public place, where the firstobject which caught his eye was a handsome cap embroidered with goldstuck upon the end of a long pole. Soldiers walked around it inrespectful silence, and the people of Altorf, as they passed, bowedtheir heads profoundly to the symbol of power. 

19. Tell was much surprised at this new and strange manifestation ofservility, and, leaning on his cross-bow, gazed contemptuously both onthe people and the soldiers. Berenger, captain of the guard, at lengthobserved this man, who alone, amid a cringing populace, carried hishead erect. He went to him, and fiercely asked why he neglected to payobedience to the orders of Hermann Gessler? Tell replied that he sawno reason why he should bow to a hat, or even to the one which the hatrepresented. This bold language surprised Berenger, who ordered Tellto be disarmed, and then, surrounded by guards, he was carried beforethe governor. "Wherefore, " demanded the incensed bailiff, "Hast thoudisobeyed my orders, and failed in thy respect to the emperor? Whyhast thou dared to pass before the sacred badge of thy sovereignwithout the evidence of homage required of thee?" "Verily, " answeredTell, with mock humility, "how this happened I know not; 'tis anaccident, and no mark of contempt. Suffer me, therefore, in thyclemency to depart. "

20. Gessler was irritated at this reply, feeling assured that therewas something beneath the tranquil and bitter smile of the prisonerwhich he could not fathom. Suddenly he was struck by the resemblancewhich existed between him and the boy Walter, whom he had met theprevious day, and immediately ordered him to be brought forward. 

21. Gessler now inquired the prisoner's name, which he no soonerlearned than he recognized as that of the archer so celebratedthroughout the canton. As soon as the youth arrived, the governorturned to Tell and told him that he had heard of his extraordinarydexterity, and was accordingly determined to put it to proof. "Whilebeholding justice done, the people of Altorf shall also admire thyskill. Thy son shall be placed a hundred yards distant, with an appleon his head; if thou hast the good fortune to carry off the apple intriumph with one of thy arrows, I pardon both, and restore yourliberty. If thou refusest this trial, thy son shall die before thineeyes!"

22. Tell implored Gessler to spare him so cruel an experiment, but, finding the governor inexorable, the hero submitted to the trial. Hewas conducted into the public place, where the required distance wasmeasured by Berenger--a double row of soldiers shutting up three sidesof the square. The people, awe-stricken and trembling, pressed behind. Walter stood with his back to a linden tree, patiently awaiting theexciting moment. Hermann Gessler, some distance behind, watched everymotion. His cross-bow and belt were handed to Tell; he tried thepoint, broke the weapon, and demanded his quiver. It was brought tohim, and emptied at his feet. William stooped down, and, taking a longtime to choose one, managed to hide a second in his girdle; the otherhe held in his hand, and proceeded to string his bow, while Berengercleared away the remaining arrows. After hesitating, he drew the bow, aimed, shot, and the apple, struck through the core, was carried awayby the arrow. 

23. The market-place was filled by loud cries of admiration. Walterflew to embrace his father, who, overcome by the excess of hisemotions, fell insensible to the ground, thus exposing the secondarrow to view. Gessler stood over him awaiting his recovery, whichspeedily took place. Tell rose, and turned away from the governor, who, however, thus addressed him: "Incomparable archer! I will keep mypromise; but, " added he, "tell me what needed you with that secondarrow which you have, I see, secreted in your girdle? One was surelyenough. " "The second shaft, " replied Tell, "was to pierce thy heart, tyrant, if I had chanced to harm my son!" At these words the terrifiedgovernor retired behind his guards, revoked his promise of pardon, commanding him further to be placed in irons, and to be reconducted tothe fort. He was obeyed, and, as slight murmurs rose among the people, double patrols of Austrian soldiers paraded the streets, and forcedthe citizens to retire to their houses. Walter, released, fled to joinArnold, of Melchthal, according to a whispered order from his father. 

24. Gessler, reflecting on the aspect of the people, and fearful thatsome plot was in progress, which his accidental shortness ofprovisions rendered more unfortunate, determined to rid his citadel ofthe object which might induce an attack. With this in view, hesummoned Berenger, and said to him: "I am about to leave Altorf, andyou shall command during my absence. I leave my brave soldiers, whowill readily obey your voice; and soon, returning with supplies andreinforcements, we will crush this vile people, and punish them fortheir insolent murmurings. Prepare me a large boat, in which thirtymen, picked from my guard, may depart with me. As soon as night comeson, load this audacious Tell with chains, and send him on board. Iwill myself take him where he can expiate his crimes!"

25. The evening was fine and promising; the boat danced along theplacid waters. The air was pure, the waves tranquil, the stars shonebrightly in the sky. A light southern breeze aided the efforts of theoarsmen, and tempered the rigor of the cold, which night in thatseason rendered almost insupportable so near the glaciers. Allappeared in Gessler's favor. The extent of the first section of thelake was soon passed, and the boat headed for Brunnen. Tell, meantime, loaded with irons, gazed with eager eye on the desert rocks of Grütli, where the day before he had planned with his friends for thedeliverance of his country. While painful thoughts crossed his mind, his looks were attracted by a dim light which burst forth near his ownhouse. Presently this light increased, and before long a blaze arosevisible all over Uri. The heart of the prisoner beat with joy, for hefelt that all efforts were making to rescue him. Gessler observed theflame, which in reality was a signal-fire to arouse the cantons, butsupposed it some Swiss peasant's house accidentally in flames. 

26. Suddenly, however, between Fluelen and Sissigen, when in deepwater, intermingled with shoals, the south wind ceased to blow, andone of those storms which are common on the lake commenced. A northwind burst upon them, raised the waves to a great height, and dashedthem over the gunwale of the boat, which, giving way to the fury ofthe storm, flew toward the shore that, rocky and precipitous, menacedtheir lives. The bleak wind brought also frost, snow, and sleet, whichspread darkness over the waters, and covered the hands and faces ofthe rowers with ice. The soldiers, inert and panic-stricken, prayedfor life, while Gessler, but ill prepared for death, was profuse inhis offers of money and other rewards if they would rouse themselvesto save him. 

27. In this emergency the Austrian bailiff was reminded by one of hisattendants that the prisoner Tell was no less skillful in themanagement of a boat than in the exercise of the bow. "And, see, mylord, " said one of the men, representing to Gessler the imminent perilthey were all incurring, "all are paralyzed with terror, and even thepilot is unable to manage the helm!"

28. Gessler's fear of Tell induced him at first to hesitate, but, theprayers of the soldiers becoming pressing, he told the prisoner thatif he could take them safely through the storm he should be at onceunbound. Tell having replied that, by the grace of God, he could stillsave them, was instantly freed from his shackles and placed at thehelm, when the boat, answering to a master-hand, kept its coursesteadily through the bellowing surge, as if conscious of the freespirit which had now taken the command. 

29. Guiding the obedient tiller at his will, Tell pointed the head ofthe boat in the direction whence they came, which he knew to be theonly safe course; and, encouraging and cheering the rowers, made rapidand steady progress through the water. The darkness which now wrappedthem round prevented Gessler from discovering that he had turned hisback on his destination. Tell continued on his way nearly the wholenight, the dying light of the signal-fire on the mountain serving as abeacon in enabling him to approach the shores of Schwytz, and to avoidthe shoals. 

30. Between Sissigen and Fluelen are two mountains, the greater andthe lesser Achsenberg, whose sides, hemmed in and risingperpendicularly from the bed of the lake, offer not a single platformwhere human foot can stand. When near this place dawn broke in theeastern sky, and Gessler--the danger appearing to decrease--scowledupon Tell in sullen silence. As the prow of the vessel was driveninland, Tell perceived a solitary table-rock, and called to therowers to redouble their efforts till they should have passed theprecipice ahead, observing with ominous truth that it was the mostdangerous point on the whole lake. 

31. The soldiers here recognized their position, and pointed it out toGessler, who demanded of Tell what he meant by taking them back toAltorf. William, without answering him, brought the bow suddenly closeupon the rock, seized his bow, and, with an effort which sent theunguided craft back into the lake, sprang on shore, scaled the rocks, and took the direction of Schwytz. 

32. Having thus escaped the clutches of the governor, he made for themain road between Art and Küssnacht, and there hid himself until sucha time as the bailiff should pass that way. Gessler and his attendantshaving, with great difficulty, effected a landing at Brunnen, proceeded toward Küssnacht. In the spot still known as "the hollowway, " and marked by a chapel, Tell overheard the threats pronouncedagainst himself should he once more be caught, and, in default of hisapprehension, vengeance was vowed against his family. Tell felt thatthe safety of himself and his wife and children, to say nothing of theduty he owed to his country, required the tyrant's death; and, seizingan arrow, he pierced Gessler to the heart. 

33. The bold deed accomplished, the hero effected his escape toStemen, where he found Werner Stauffacher preparing to march. Immediate action was now necessary, but the original decision of theconspirators remained unchanged. Accordingly, on the morning of NewYear's Day, 1308, the castle of Rostberg, in Obwalden, was takenpossession of, its keeper, Berenger, of Landasberg, made prisoner, andcompelled to promise that he would never again set foot within theterritory of the three cantons, after which he was allowed to retireto Lucerne. 

34. Stauffacher, the same morning, at the head of the men of Schwytz, destroyed the fortress of Schwanan, while Tell and the men of Uri tookpossession of Altorf. On the following Sunday the deputies of Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden met, and renewed that fraternal league whichhas endured to this day. 

35. In 1315 Leopold, second son of Albert, determined to punish theconfederate cantons for their revolt, and accordingly marched againstthem at the head of a considerable army, accompanied by a numerousretinue of nobles. Count Otho, of Strasberg, one of his ablestgenerals, crossed the Brunig with a body of four thousand men, intending to attack Upper Unterwalden. The bailiffs of Willisan, ofWodhausen, and of Lucerne meantime armed a fourth of that number tomake a descent on the lower division of the same canton, while theemperor in person, at the head of his army of reserve, poured downfrom Egerson on Mogarten, in the country of Schwytz, ostentatiouslydisplaying an extensive supply of rope where with to hang the chiefsof the rebels. 

36. The confederates, in order to oppose this formidable invasion, occupied a position in the mountains bordering on the convent of OurLady of the Hermits. Four hundred men of Uri, and three hundred ofUnterwalden, had effected a junction with the warriors of Schwytz, whoformed the principal force of the little army. Fifty men, banishedfrom this latter canton, offered themselves to combat beneath theirbanner, intending to efface by their valor the remembrance of pastfaults. Early on the morning of November 15, 1315, some thousands ofwell-armed Austrian knights slowly ascended the hill on which theSwiss were posted, with the hope of dislodging them; the latter, however, advanced to meet their enemies, uttering the most terrificcries. The band of banished men, having precipitated large stones andfragments of rocks from the hillsides and from overhanging cliffs, rushed from behind the sheltering influence of a thick fog and threwthe advancing columns into confusion. The Austrians immediately broketheir ranks, and presently a complete rout, with terrible slaughter, ensued. The flower of the Austrian chivalry perished on the field ofMorgarten, beneath the halberts, arrows, and iron-headed clubs of theshepherds. Leopold, himself, though he succeeded in gaining theshattered remnant of his forces, had a narrow escape, while the Swiss, animated by victory, hastened to Unterwalden, where they defeatedanother body of Austrians. In this instance Count Otho had as narrowan escape as the emperor. 

37. After these two well-fought fields, the confederates hastened torenew their ancient alliance, which was solemnly sworn to in anassembly held at Brunnen on the eighth day of December. 

38. After the battle of Morgarten one canton after another threw offthe Austrian yoke, and joined the forest cantons, until nearly allSwitzerland was joined in a confederacy. A later war waged by Albertproved disastrous to the Austrian cause, and ended by a furtherconsolidation of the Swiss cantons. In 1356, seventy years afterMorgarten, the Austrians made another attempt to bring the bravemountaineers into subjection. An army of nine thousand men, the besttrained soldiers of the empire, under the lead of the ArchdukeLeopold, invaded the country. To these the confederates opposed aforce of fourteen hundred. They met in a valley near the lake ofSempach. The Austrians had learned something of Swiss warfare, andknew that they stood no chance in a hand-to-hand conflict with theSwiss, and so they formed their men into squares, with a wall ofbristling spears on every side. Upon this solid mass of men the Swisscould make no impression. In vain they charged with the fiery couragewhich had so often gained them the victory; they could find novulnerable point in the serried columns, and it seemed that the bravemountaineers must all perish, and leave their homes again to the mercyof the Austrian soldiers. But, when almost in despair, the tide ofbattle was turned by the acts of a single Swiss soldier, ArnoldWinkelried, of Unterwalden. He communicated his plan to his immediateneighbors, and then, rushing forward, he grasped as many of theAustrian spears as he could reach; and, gathering them together, hebowed to the ground with the spears buried in his breast. Into thebreach his companions rushed, and with their powerful swords they soonwidened the space, so that the whole Swiss force had room for action. The Austrians were almost annihilated, Leopold himself being slain. The poet Montgomery has given the following version of this event:

ARNOLD WINKELRIED. 

 39. "Make way for liberty!" he cried; "Make way for liberty!" and died. 

 40. In arms the Austrian phalanx stood, A living wall, a human wood! A wall where every conscious stone Seemed to its kindred thousands grown; A rampart all assaults to bear, Till time to dust their frames should wear! A wood, like that enchanted grove In which with fiends Rinaldo strove, Where every silent tree possessed A spirit prisoned in its breast, Which the first stroke of coming strife Would startle into hideous life; So dense, so still, the Austrians stood, A living wall, a human wood! Impregnable their front appears, All horrent with projected spears, Whose polished points before them shine, From flank to flank, one brilliant line, Bright as the breakers' splendors run Along the billows, to the sun. 

 41. Opposed to these, a hovering band Contended for their native land; Peasants, whose new-found strength had broke From manly necks the ignoble yoke, And forged their fetters into swords, On equal terms to fight their lords And what insurgent rage had gained, In many a mortal fray maintained! Marshaled at morn at Freedom's call, They come to conquer or to fall, Where he who conquered, he who fell, Was deemed a dead, or living Tell! Such virtue had that patriot breathed, So to the soil his soul bequeathed, That wheresoe'er his arrows flew, Heroes in his own likeness grew, And warriors sprang from every sod Which his awakening footstep trod. 

 42. And now the work of life and death Hung on the passing of a breath; The fire of conflict burnt within, The battle trembled to begin; Yet, while the Austrians held their ground, Point for attack was nowhere found. Where'er the impatient Switzers gazed, The unbroken line of lances blazed; That line 'twere suicide to meet, And perish at their tyrant's feet How could they rest within their graves, And leave their homes the homes of slaves? Would they not feel their children tread With clanging chains above their head?

 43. It must not! This day, this hour, Annihilates the oppressor's power; All Switzerland is in the field, She will not fly, she can not yield-- She must not fall; her better fate Here gives her an immortal date. Few were the numbers she could boast; But every freeman was a host, And felt as though himself were he On whose sole arm hung victory!

 44. It did depend on one, indeed, Behold him--Arnold Winkelried There sounds not to the tramp of fame The echo of a nobler name. Unmarked he stood amid the throng, In rumination deep and long, Till you might see, with sudden grace, The very thought come o'er his face, And by the motion of his form Anticipate the coming storm; And by the uplifting of his brow Tell where the bolt would strike, and how. 

 45. But 'twas no sooner thought and done, The field was in a moment won. 

 46. "Make way for Liberty!" he cried; Then ran with arms extended wide As if his dearest friend to clasp; Ten spears he swept within his grasp. "Make way for Liberty!" he cried: Their keen points met from side to side; He bowed among them like a tree, And thus made way for Liberty!

 47. Swift to the breach his comrades fly; "Make way for Liberty!" they cry. And through the Austrian phalanx dart, As rushed the spears through Arnold's heart! While instantaneous as his fall, Rout, ruin, panic, scattered all An earthquake could not overthrow A city with a surer blow. 

 48. Thus Switzerland again was free, Thus death made way for Liberty!

49. In the next fifty years the Swiss were engaged in a war withAustria and another with France, and in both cases they werevictorious. But, while they were exhausted by the incessant wars thathad been urged upon them, they were threatened with a more formidableinvasion than ever. Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, resolved toattach Switzerland to his domain. Crossing the Jura, the duke foundhimself in possession of Yverdun, it having been betrayed into hishands; but the citadel still held out. Charles, irritated that hisprogress should be stayed by such a handful of men, offered to letthem retire home if they would surrender, but if they still held outhe would hang them all! The Swiss, knowing prolonged defense wasuseless, surrendered. As they marched out of the citadel they wereseized, by order of the duke, and all murdered. 

50. Aroused by these horrors, an army of twenty thousand advanced tomeet the duke at the head of three times that number. In the battlethat ensued the Burgundians were entirely defeated, and Charlesnarrowly escaped with his life. Writhing under his disgrace, andvowing revenge, the duke raised a much more numerous army, and againinvaded Switzerland. 

51. He advanced by the way of the lake of Neufchatel, and paused a fewdays to capture the fortress on the banks of Lake Morat. While thesiege was going on the Swiss army concentrated, and marched to meettheir foes. Thirty thousand men were to fight the battle of freedomagainst one hundred thousand. It was on Saturday, June 22, 1476. Theweather was threatening, the sky overcast, and rain fell in torrents. A vanguard was formed, commanded by John Hallwyl, who knelt andbesought a blessing from on high. While they yet prayed the sun brokethrough the clouds, upon which the Swiss commander rose, sword inhand, crying: "Up, up, Heaven smiles on our victory!" The artillerythundered forth as he spoke, and the whole plain, from the lake to therocky heights, became one vast battle-field! Toward the main body ofthe Burgundians the Swiss army poured down with irresistible force andcourage; and, clearing all difficulties, they reached the line of theenemy. A fearful slaughter now ensued. The Burgundians were utterlyvanquished. The haughty duke, pale and dispirited, fled with a fewfollowers, and never stopped till he reached the banks of Lake Leman. The rout was so complete that many of the Burgundians, in terror anddespair, threw themselves into the Lake of Morat, the banks of whichwere strewed with the bodies of the slain. 

52. The battle of Morat lives in history with the victories ofMarathon and Bannockburn. In each, freedom for the nation was secured, and liberty for man was preserved and transmitted. As a deed, theSwiss victory for ever freed a people from a grasping foreign tyrant;and it is a matter of rejoicing to all who love liberty till to-day, and, like other great events, it is the subject of national traditions. 

53. According to one of these, a young native of Friburg, who had beenengaged in the battle, keenly desirous of being the first to carryhome tidings of the victory, ran the whole way--a distance of ten ortwelve miles--and with such overhaste that on his arrival at themarket-place he dropped with fatigue, and, barely able to shout thatthe Swiss were victorious, immediately expired. A twig of lime-tree, which he carried in his hand, was planted on the spot in commemorationof this event; and till the present day are seen, in the market-placeof Friburg, the aged and propped-up remains of the venerable treewhich grew from this twig. In most of the towns of Switzerland a "treeof Liberty" is preserved, which came from scions of the original treeat Friburg. 

CHAPTER IV. 

_BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURN. _

1. Six hundred years ago the duty of defending freedom fell to KingRobert Bruce and the Scotch. And this is how it happened. The time wasduring the crusades, when all Europe was marching to the East, andengaging in battle with the Moslems. Scotland had been an independentcountry for many years, but some of her princes were too weak forthose troublous times. The witches that deceived Macbeth seem to havecast a spell upon the prosperity of the country. Clan was at enmitywith clan, and one great chieftain waged relentless war with another. The fierce nobles paid little heed to the king, and showed no regardfor the rights of the people. It seemed that peace and liberty haddeparted forever. 

2. Alexander III died, leaving no direct heir. The Scottish noblesassembled to elect who should be their king. The choice lay betweenRobert Bruce and John Balliol. As the nobles could not agree, thematter was referred to King Edward I, of England, who decided in favorof Balliol. The new prince was weak, and, when he resented theinterference of King Edward in some of his affairs, he was easilydefeated and driven from the kingdom. Scotland was now regarded as aconquered country, and the people were terribly oppressed. The nobleswere deprived of their estates, and the poor people were taxed to theverge of starvation. For fifteen years King Edward held on to hisusurped power, while the weak king Balliol was wandering in foreignlands, paying no attention to the distracted state of his country. 

3. At last the oppression became so great that conflicts took placealmost daily between the Scotch peasants and the English soldiery. Onone occasion, a young man named William Wallace was out a-fishing witha boy to carry the fish. Two or three English soldiers came along andinsisted on taking the fish. Wallace offered to divide with them, butthey insisted on taking the whole, when he flew in a rage, killed onewith his fishing-pole, and, seizing a sword, put the others to flight. He then fled, and concealed himself in the mountains until the matterblew over. On another occasion he killed an Englishman who insultedhim at a fair, and fled to his home, where he was pursued by thesoldiers. He escaped by the back door, but the cruel English leader, Hazelrigg, put his wife and servants to death. From that time Wallacedevoted himself to fighting the English. He soon collected a band ofoutlaws and attacked the English whereever he found a favorableopportunity. He soon had the satisfaction of killing Hazelrigg, and ofcapturing many important places. 

4. The Scotch rose everywhere and joined Wallace, who soon foundhimself at the head of a formidable army. With this lie captured theEnglish fortresses, and finally defeated the chief English army underEarl Warren. Scotland was now free, but the English king hastened backfrom Flanders to punish the Scotch. The battle of Falkirk was foughtJuly 22, 1298, and the Scotch were entirely defeated. Wallace againbecame a fugitive, but was betrayed into the hands of Edward, and wasbeheaded and quartered, according to the barbarous custom of thetimes. 

5. The eyes of all Scotland were now turned to Robert Bruce as theonly remaining champion who would be likely to make head against theEnglish, and he accepted the proffered leadership. His principal rivalwas a powerful noble called the Red Comyn, and with this rival Brucesought to make friends. The two met in a church, and Comyn flatlyrefused to join the Scottish cause, but openly proclaimed hisadherence to the English. A quarrel arose, and, in the excitement, Bruce stabbed Comyn. Almost paralyzed at his act, he rushed out of thehouse and called for his horse. His friends eagerly inquired what wasthe matter. "I doubt, " said Bruce, "that I have slain the Red Comyn. ""Do not leave the matter in doubt, " said Kirkpatrick; "I will make itcertain. " He and his companions then rushed into the church and soondispatched Comyn with their daggers. 

6. This deed is the one great blot upon the name of Bruce, andbitterly did he repent of his rashness. It called down upon hisdevoted head the anathema of the church for sacrilege in committingviolence before the holy altar. It arrayed against him the kinsmen andfriends of the Red Comyn, and it produced distrust in the minds ofmany true friends of Scotland, who could never have confidence in suchan impetuous leader. Bruce made a vow that, if he succeeded insecuring the freedom of Scotland, he would do penance for his crime byentering upon a crusade and fighting for the holy sepulchre. 

7. On the 29th of March, 1306, Bruce was crowned king. His enemiesimmediately attacked and defeated him, and he was obliged to takerefuge in the mountains of the Highlands. Here he was hunted like awild animal, and was obliged to flee from one fastness to another. Oneof the most malignant of his enemies was Lord Lorn, a kinsman of theRed Comyn. At one time Bruce and his few followers were retreatingthrough a narrow pass, when he was set upon by Lorn and a muchsuperior force. Sending his followers ahead, he stopped his horse inthe narrow way, and covered their retreat. Upon seeing the king thusalone, three powerful highlandmen--a father and two sons--set uponhim, determined to kill him or take him prisoner for their master, Lord Lorn. Bruce struck the first man who came up and seized hisbridle such a blow with his sword as to cut off his hand and free thebridle. The man bled to death. The other brother seized him by the legand attempted to throw him from his horse. The king, setting spurs tothe horse, made the animal spring forward so that the Highlander fellunder the horse's feet, and, as he endeavored to rise, the king clefthis head in two with his sword. The father, seeing his two sons thusslain, flew at Bruce and grasped him in his mantle so close to hisbody that he could not have room to wield his long sword. But with aniron hammer which hung at his saddle-bow, Bruce dashed out the brainsof this new assailant. The dying man still clung to the king's mantle, so that, to get free, Bruce was obliged to undo the brooch by which itwas fastened, and leave it with the mantle behind. This brooch fellinto the hands of Lorn, and was kept in the family for manygenerations as a memorial of Bruce. 

8. But Bruce was soon reduced to greater straits, and, withoutfollowers, was obliged to conceal himself in stables and caves. In allhis misfortunes he never gave up the cause of his country, and hesacredly devoted his life to the freedom of Scotland. After one of hisdefeats he was lying one night on a wretched bed in a rude hut, whiledebating in his own mind whether it were not best to enlist in acrusade, when his attention was directed to a spider on the raftersoverhead. He saw that the little spinner was trying to swing from onerafter to another, so as to fix his thread across the space. Time andagain it tried and failed. Admiring the perseverance of the creature, Bruce began to count the number of times he tried. One, two, three, four, five, six. It suddenly occurred to Bruce that this was just thenumber of times he had failed in his attempts against the enemy. Hethen made up his mind that if the spider succeeded in the next trialhe would make one more endeavor to recover his kingdom, but if itfailed he would start at once for Palestine. The spider sprang intothe air, and this time succeeded, so the king resolved upon anothertrial, and never after met with a defeat. 

[Illustration: _Edinburgh Castle_]

9. Many a wild story is told of his feats of arms and hairbreadthescapes while he wandered about without a country. Sir Walter Scott, in his poem, "The Lord of the Isles, " records one of these legends. Itis reported that, on one occasion, with his brother Edward and sisterIsabel in a boat, he was driven by stress of weather to take refuge inone of the Hebrides upon the western coast, the home of Roland, theLord of the Isles. It happened to be a festive occasion, a largeassembly having met to celebrate the marriage of the Lord of the Isleswith the sister of the Lord of Lorn. As Bruce entered thebanquet-hall, Lorn recognized him:

 10. "Now, by Columba's shrine I swear, And every saint that's buried there, 'Tis he himself!" Lorn sternly cries; "And for my kinsman's death he dies!" As loudly Roland calls, "Forbear! Not in my sight while brand I wear, O'ermatched by odds shall warrior fall, Or blood of stranger stain my hall! This ancient fortress of my race Shall be misfortune's resting-place, Shelter or shield of the distressed, No slaughter-house of shipwrecked guest!"

 11. "Talk not to me, " fierce Lorn replied, "Of odds or match! When Comyn died, Three daggers clashed within his side! Talk not to me of sheltering hall, The church of God saw Comyn fall! On God's own altar streamed his blood, While o'er my prostrate kinsman stood The ruthless murderer--e'en as now-- With armèd hand and scornful brow! Up, all who love me! blow on blow, And lay the outlawed felons low!"

 * * * * *

 12. Then waked the wild debate again, With brawling threat and clamor vain, Vassals and menials thronging in, Lent their brute rage to swell the din; When far and wide a bugle clang From the dark, ocean upward rang. "The abbot comes!" they cried at once, "The holy man whose favored glance Hath sainted visions known; Angels have met him on the way, Beside the blessed martyr's bay, And by Columba's stone. He comes our feuds to reconcile, A sainted man from sainted isle; We will his holy will abide, The abbot shall our strife decide!"

 13. The abbot on the threshold stood, And in his hands the holy rood; Back on his shoulders flowed his hood, The torch's glaring ray Showed, in its red and flashing light, His withered cheek and amice white, His blue eye glistening cold and bright, His tresses scant and gray. "Fair lords, " he said, "our lady's love, And peace be with you from above, And benedicite! But what means this? no peace is here! Do dirks unsheathed suit bridal cheer? Or are these naked brands A seemly show for churchman's sight, When he comes summoned to unite Betrothed hearts and hands?" Then, cloaking hate with fiery zeal, Proud Lorn answered the appeal: "Thou comest, O holy man, True sons of blessed church to greet, But little deeming here to meet A wretch, beneath the ban Of pope and church, for murder done Even on the sacred altar-stone! Well may'st thou wonder we should know Such miscreant here, nor lay him low, Or dream of greeting, peace, or truce, With excommunicated Bruce! Yet will I grant, to end debate, Thy sainted voice decide his fate. "

 14. Then Roland pled the stranger's cause And knighthood's oath and honor's laws; And Isabel on bended knee Brought prayers and tears to back her plea; And Edith lent her generous aid, And wept, and Lorn for mercy prayed. 

 15. Then Argentine, in England's name, So highly urged his sovereign's claim, He waked a spark, that, long suppressed, Had smoldered in Lord Roland's breast; And now, as from the flint the fire, Flashed forth at once his generous ire. "Enough of noble blood, " he said, "By English Edward had been shed, Since matchless Wallace first had been In mockery crowned with wreaths of green, And done to death by felon hand, For guarding well his native land. Where's Nigel Bruce? and De la Haye, And valiant Seaton--where are they? Where Somerville, the kind and free? And Fraser, flower of chivalry? Have they not been on gibbet bound, Their quarters flung to hawk and hound, And hold we here a cold debate To yield more victims to their fate? What! can the English leopard's mood Never be gorged with Northern blood? Was not the life of Athole shed To soothe the tyrant's sickened bed? Nor must his word, till dying day, Be nought but quarter, hang, and slay?"

 16. "Nor deem, " said Dunnegan's knight, "That thou shalt brave alone the fight! By saints of isle and mainland both, By woden wild--my grandsire's oath-- Let Rome and England do their worst; Rowe'er attainted and accursed, If Bruce shall e'er find friends again, Once more to brave a battle-plain, If Douglas couch again his lance, Or Randolph dare another chance, Old Torquil will not be to lack With twice a thousand at his back; Nay, chafe not at my bearing bold, Good abbot! for thou knowest of old, Torquil's rude thought and stubborn will Smack of the wild Norwegian still Nor will I barter freedom's cause For England's wealth or Rome's applause!"

 17. The abbot seemed with eye severe, The hardy chieftain's speech to hear; Then on King Robert turned the monk, But twice his courage came and sunk, Confronted with the hero's look; Twice fell his eye, his accents shook; At length resolved in tone and brow, Sternly he questioned him, "And thou Unhappy, what hast thou to plead, Why I denounce not on thy deed That awful doom which canons tell Shuts paradise and opens hell? Anathema of power so dread, It blends the living with the dead, Bids each good angel soar away, And every ill one claim his prey; Expels thee from the church's care, And deafens Heaven against thy prayer; Arms every hand against thy life, Bans all who aid thee in the strife; Nay, each whose succor, cold and scant, With meanest alms relieves thy want; Haunts thee when living; and, when dead, Dwells on thy yet devoted head, Rends honor's 'scutcheon from thy hearse, Stills o'er thy bier the holy verse, And spurns thy corpse from hallowed ground Flung like vile carrion to the hound; Such is the dire and desperate doom For sacrilege, decreed by Rome; And such the well-deserved meed Of thine unhallowed, ruthless deed. "

 18. "Abbot!" the Bruce replied, "thy charge It boots me not to dispute at large; This much, howe'er, I bid thee know, No selfish vengeance dealt the blow, For Comyn died his country's foe. Nor blame I friends whose ill-timed speed Fulfilled my soon-repented deed, Nor censure those from whose stern tongue The dire anathema has rung. I only blame my own wild ire, By Scotland's wrongs incensed to fire. Heaven knows my purpose to atone, Far as I may, the evil done, And bears a penitent's appeal, From papal curse and prelate zeal. My first and dearest task achieved, Fair Scotland from her thrall relieved, Shall many a priest in cope and stole Say requiem for Red Comyn's soul, While I the blessèd cross advance, And expiate this unhappy chance In Palestine, with sword and lance. But, while content the church should know My conscience owns the debt I owe, Unto de Argentine and Lorn The name of traitor I return, Bid them defiance, stern and high, And give them in their throats the lie! These brief words spoke, I speak no more, Do as thou wilt; my shrift is o'er. "

 19. Like man by prodigy amazed, Upon the king the abbot gazed; Then o'er his pallid features glance Convulsions of ecstatic trance. His breathing came more thick and fast, And from his pale-blue eyes were cast Strange rays of wild and wandering light; Uprise his locks of silver white, Flushed is his brow, through every vein In azure tides the currents strain, And undistinguished accents broke The awful silence e'er he spoke. 

 20. "De Bruce, I rose with purpose dread To speak my curse upon thy head, And give thee as an outcast o'er To him who burns to shed thy gore; But like the Midianite of old Who stood on Zophin, heaven-controlled, I feel within my aged breast A power that can not be repressed. It prompts my voice, it swells my veins, It burns, it maddens, it constrains! De Bruce, thy sacrilegious blow Hath at God's altar slain thy foe; O'ermastered, yet by high behest, I bless thee, and thou shalt be blest!" He spoke, and o'er the astonished throng Was silence, awful, deep and long. Again that light has fired his eye, Again his form swells bold and high, The broken voice of age is gone, 'Tis vigorous manhood's lofty tone "Thrice vanquished on the battle-plain, Thy followers slaughtered, fled, or ta'en, A hunted wanderer on the wild, On foreign shores a man exiled, Disowned, deserted, and distressed, I bless thee, and thou shalt be blessed Blessed in the hall and in the field, Under the mantle as the shield. Avenger of thy country's shame, Restorer of her injured name, Blessed in thy scepter and thy sword, De Bruce, fair Scotland's rightful lord, Blessed in thy deeds and in thy fame, What lengthened honors wait thy name! In distant ages, sire to son Shall tell the tale of freedom won, And teach his infants, in the use Of earliest speech, to falter Bruce. Go then, triumphant! sweep along Thy course, the theme of many a song! The power, whose dictates swell my breast, Hath blessed thee, and thou shalt be blessed!"

21. With the faithful islanders Bruce remained for some months, whilehis friends were making preparations for a rising upon the mainland. At last the time came, and Bruce, at the head of a little force, landed in the night and surprised and captured a castle held by theLord of Lorn. Holding this as a basis of operations, the king and hisprincipal followers, Douglas and Randolph, went out in differentdirections to arouse the people against their English oppressors, andto raise forces of sufficient strength to risk their cause in battle. This was a matter of great hazard, as every movement of the Scotch wasclosely watched by the enemy, and, when any one was suspected ofopposing the English rule, he was at once imprisoned and probablyexecuted. The patriots were obliged to move with great caution, andoften to secrete themselves in the fastnesses of the mountains or inthe lonely huts of the peasants. Blood-hounds were employed to trackthe fugitives, and it is related that Lorn at one time followed Brucewith a blood-hound that had once been his own. The king, seeing thathe was followed by a large body of soldiers, divided his men intothree separate parties, hoping to throw the hound off the track. Theblood-hound, when he came to the point of separation, would not evennotice the two other divisions, but followed that of the king. Findinghis last expedient had failed, Bruce ordered his whole party todisperse, keeping with him only his foster-brother as an attendant. When Lorn discovered the party had broken up, he sent five of his menwho were speedy on foot to follow the king and put him to death. Theyran so fast that they soon gained sight of Bruce and his companion. The two turned upon the five men of Lorn, who came up one by one, exhausted with running, and put them all to death. 

22. By this time Bruce was much fatigued, but he dared not stop torest, for he could hear every moment the deep bay of the hound. Atlength they came to a wood through which ran a small stream of water. Into the stream they waded and followed it for a long distance; theblood-hound followed the track to the water, but he could trace thescent no farther, and Lorn gave up the chase. But Bruce's adventureswere not at an end. After resting themselves in the woods, the two setout to find some human habitation, or to fall in with some party oftheir friends. In the midst of the forest they met three men wholooked like ruffians. "They were well armed, and one of them bore asheep on his back, which it seemed he had just stolen. They salutedthe king civilly, and he, replying to their salutation, asked themwhere they were going. The men answered that they were seeking forRobert Bruce, for they intended to join him. The king answered that, if they would go with him, he would conduct them where they could findthe Scottish king. Then the man who had spoken changed color, andBruce, who looked sharply at him, began to suspect that the ruffianguessed who he was, and that he and his companions had some designagainst his person, in order to gain the reward which had been offeredfor his life. 

23. "So he said to them, 'My good friends, as we are not wellacquainted with each other, you must go before us, and we will follownear to you. ' 'You have no occasion to suspect any harm from us, 'said the man. 'Neither do I suspect any, ' said Bruce, I but this isthe way it, which I choose to travel. '

24. "The men did as he commanded, and thus they traveled till theycame to a waste and ruinous cottage, where the men proposed to dressdown part of the sheep which they were carrying. The king was glad tohear of food, but he insisted that two fires should be kindled, onefor himself and foster-brother at one end of the cottage, the other atthe other end for the three companions. The men did as he desired. They broiled a quarter of the mutton for themselves, and gave anotherto the king and his attendant. They were obliged to eat it withoutbread or salt; but, as they were very hungry, they were glad to getfood in any shape, and partook of it heartily. 

25. "Then so heavy a drowsiness fell on King Robert that he greatlydesired to sleep. But, first, he desired his foster-brother to watchas he slept, for he had great suspicion of his new acquaintances. Hisfoster-brother promised to keep awake, and did his best to so keep hisword. But the king had not been long asleep ere his foster-brotherfell into a deep slumber also, for he had under-gone as much fatigueas the king. 

26. "When the three villains saw the king and his attendant wereasleep, they made signs to each other, and, rising up, at once drewtheir swords with the purpose to kill them both. But the king sleptbut lightly, and, as little noise as the traitors made in rising, hewas awakened by it, and, starting up, drew his sword and went to meetthem. At the same moment he pushed his foster-brother with his foot toawaken him, and he started up; but, ere he got his eyes cleared to seewhat was about him, one of the ruffians that were advancing to slaythe king killed him with the stroke of a sword. The king was nowalone--one man against three, and in the greatest danger of his life;but his amazing strength, and the good armor which he wore, freed himfrom this great danger, and he killed the men one by one. 

21. "King Robert was now alone, and he left the cottage very sorrowfulfor the death of his foster-brother, and took himself in the directiontoward where he had directed his men to ensemble after theirdispersion. It was now near night, and, the place of meeting being afarm-house, he went boldly into it, where he found the mistress, anold true-hearted Scotchwoman, sitting alone. Upon seeing a strangerenter, she asked him who and what he was. The king answered that hewas a traveler, who was journeying through the country. 'Alltravelers, ' answered the good woman, 'are welcome here for the sake ofone. ' 'and who is that one, ' said the king, 'for whose sake you makeall travelers welcome?' 'It is our lawful King Robert the Bruce, 'answered the mistress, 'who is the rightful lord of this country; and, although he is now pursued and hunted after with hounds and horns, Ihope to live to see him king over all Scotland. '

28. "'Since you love him so well, dame, ' said the king, 'know that yousee him before you. I am Robert the Bruce. ' 'You!' said the goodwoman in great surprise; 'and wherefore are you thus alone? Where areall your men?' 'I have none with me at this moment, ' answered theBruce, 'and therefore I must travel alone. ' 'But that shall not be, 'said the brave old dame, 'for I have two stout sons, gallant andtrusty men, who shall be your servants for life and death!' So shebrought her sons, and, though she well knew the danger to which sheexposed them, she made them swear fealty to the king; and theyafterward became high officers in his service. " Now the loyal oldwoman was getting everything ready for the king's supper, whensuddenly there was a trampling of horse heard around the house. Theythought it must be some of the English or John of Lorn's men, and thegood wife called upon her sons to fight to the last for King Robert. But, shortly after, the voices of James of Douglas and of EdwardBrute, the king's brother, were heard, who had come with a hundred andfifty horsemen to this farm-house, according to the instructions ofthe king when they parted. 

"Robert the Bruce was right joyful to meet his brother and faithfulfriend Lord James, and had no sooner found himself at the head of sucha considerable body of followers, than, forgetting hunger andweariness he began to inquire where the enemy who had pursued him solong had taken up their quarters; 'for, ' said he, 'as they mustsuppose we are totally scattered and fled, it is likely they willthink themselves quite secure, and disperse themselves into distantquarters, and keep careless watch. '

"'That is very true, ' answered James of Douglas; 'for I passed avillage where there are two hundred of them quartered who had placedno sentinels; and, if you have a mind to make haste, we may surprisethem this very night. ' Then there was nothing but mount and ride;and, as the Scots came by surprise on the body of the English whomDouglas had mentioned, and rushed suddenly into the village where theywere quartered, they easily dispersed and cut them to pieces; thusdoing their pursuers more injury than they themselves had receivedduring the long and severe pursuit of the preceding day. "

On another occasion Bruce, with sixty men, was wandering in the countyof Galloway, awaiting the gathering of forces. Now the people ofGalloway are mostly friendly to the Lord of Lorn, and a large numberof them collected, determined to capture him. They felt sure of thesuccess of their enterprise, as they had a blood-hound to track theking, and had such superior numbers. 

33. "Now Bruce, who was always watchful and vigilant, had receivedsome information of this party to come upon him suddenly in the night. Accordingly, he quartered his party of sixty men on the farther sideof a deep and swift-running river, that had very steep and rockybanks. There was but one ford by which this river could be crossed inthe neighborhood, and that ford was deep and narrow, so that two mencould scarcely get through abreast; the bank on which they were toland on the other side was steep, and the path that led upward fromthe water's edge extremely narrow and difficult. 

34. "Bruce caused his men to lie down and sleep, at a place about halfa mile distant from the river, while he, with two attendants, wentdown to watch the ford, and thinking how easy the enemy might be keptfrom passing there, providing it was bravely defended--when he heardthe distant baying of a hound, which was always coming nearer andnearer. This was the blood-hound which was tracing the king's steps tothe ford where he had crossed, and the two hundred Galloway men werealong with the animal and guided by it. Bruce thought of going back toawaken his men; but then he thought it might be some shepherd's dog. 'My men, ' said he, 'are sorely tired; I will not disturb them by thebarking of a cur till I know something more of the matter. '

35. "So he stood and listened; and, by and by, as the cry of the houndcame nearer, he began to hear the trampling of horses, and the voicesof men, and the ringing and clattering of armor; and then he was surethe enemy were coming to the river-side. Then the king thought, 'If Igo back to give my men the alarm, these Galloway men will get throughthe ford without opposition, and that would be a pity, since it is aplace so advantageous to make a defense against them. ' So he lookedagain at the steep path and the deep river, and he thought it gave himso much advantage that he could defend the passage with his own handuntil his men came to assist him. His armor was so good and strongthat he had no fears of their arrows, and therefore the combat was notso very unequal as it must have otherwise seemed. He therefore senthis followers to waken his men, and remained alone on the bank of theriver. 

36. "In the meanwhile the noise and the trampling of the horsesincreased, and, the moon being bright, Bruce saw the glancing arms ofabout two hundred men, who came down to the opposite bank of theriver. The men of Galloway, on their part, saw but one solitary figureguarding the ford, and the foremost of them plunged into the riverwithout minding him. Bruce, who stood high above them on the bankwhere they were to land, killed the foremost man with a thrust of hislong spear, and with a second thrust stabbed the horse, which felldown, kicking and plunging in his agonies, on the narrow path, and sopreventing the others from getting out of the river. In the confusionfive or six of the enemy were slain, or, having been borne down thecurrent, were drowned in the river. The rest were terrified, and drewback. 

37. "But, when they looked again and saw only one man, they themselvesbeing so many, they cried out that their honor would be lost foreverif they did not force their way; and encouraged each other with loudcries to plunge in and assault him. But by this time the king'ssoldiers came up to his assistance, and the Galloway men retreated andgave up their enterprise. "

38. These successes of Bruce inspired great confidence, and he soonfound himself at the head of a formidable force. With this he marchedup and down the country, and compelled the English to keep strictlywithin their castles and fortified places; and even several of thesewere captured. King Edward I, of England, heard of these successes ofBruce with astonishment and rage. Though old and sorely diseased, heraised a large army and marched for the north; but he had scarcelycrossed the Scottish border when his physician informed him that hehad but a few hours to live. He immediately called his son to hisbed-side, and made him swear that he would push forward thisexpedition against the Bruce; and he died cursing the whole Scotchpeople. He even gave direction that his body should be boiled, andthat his bones, wrapped in a bull's hide, should be carried at thehead of the army as often as the Scots attempted to recover theirfreedom. 

39. Edward II was a weak prince, neither so wise nor so brave as hisfather. He marched a little way on to Scotland, but, having no greatliking for war, he turned and marched back into England. Hedisregarded his father's injunction about the disposition of hisbones, but took them back to London, and deposited them in WestminsterAbbey. 

40. From this time the cause of Bruce was a succession of victories. During the winter and spring one English fortress after anothersurrendered, until there only remained the strong castle of Stirlingheld by the English power. This castle was besieged, and Sir PhilipMowbray, the commander, agreed to surrender it if it was notreinforced by the English before midsummer. Then came a cessation ofhostilities, and a period of rest for the Scots. King Edward had madeno arrangement to again interfere in Scottish affairs. But now, whenSir Philip Mowbray, the governor of Stirling, came to London to tellthe king that Stirling, the last Scottish town of importance whichremained in possession of the English, was to be surrendered if itwere not relieved by force of arms before midsummer, then all theEnglish nobles called out, it would be a sin and shame to permit thefair conquest which Edward I had made to be forfeited to the Scots forwant of fighting. It was, therefore, resolved that the king should gohimself to Scotland with as great forces as he could possibly muster. 

41. King Edward II, therefore, assembled one of the greatest armieswhich a king of England ever commanded. There were troops brought fromall his dominions. Many brave soldiers from the French provinces whichthe king of England enjoyed in France; many Irish, many Welsh, and allthe great English nobles and barons, with their followers, wereassembled in one great army. The number was not less than one hundredthousand men. 

42. King Robert the Bruce summoned all his nobles and barons to joinhim, when he heard of the great preparation which the king of Englandwas making. They were not so numerous as the English by many thousandmen. In fact, his whole army did not very much exceed thirty thousandmen, and they were much worse armed than the wealthy Englishmen; butthen Robert, who was at their head, was one of the most expertgenerals of the time, and the officers he had under him were hisbrother Edward, his nephew Randolph, his faithful follower theDouglas, and other brave and experienced leaders, who commanded thesame men that had been accustomed to fight and gain victories underevery disadvantage of situation and numbers. 

43. The king, on his part, studied how he might supply, by address andstratagem, what he wanted in numbers and strength. He knew thesuperiority of the English both in their heavy-armed cavalry, whichwere much better mounted and armed than those of the Scots, and in thearchery, in which art the English were better than any people in theworld. Both these advantages he resolved to provide against. With thispurpose, Bruce led his army down into a plain, near Stirling, calledthe Park, near which, and beneath it, the English army must needs passthrough a boggy country, broken with water-courses, while the Scotsoccupied hard, dry ground. He then caused all the hard ground upon thefront of his line of battle, where cavalry were likely to act, to bedug full of holes, about as deep as a man's knee. They were filledwith light brushwood, and the turf was laid on the top, so that itappeared a plain field, while in reality it was all as full of thesepits as a honeycomb is of holes. He also, it is said, caused steelspikes, called calthrops, to be scattered up and down in the plain, where the English cavalry were most likely to advance, trusting tolame and destroy their horses. 

44. When his army was drawn, the line stretched north and south. Onthe south it was terminated by the banks of the brook calledBannockburn, which are so rocky that no troops could come on themthere. On the left the Scottish line extended near to the town ofStirling. Bruce reviewed his troops very carefully; all the uselessservants and drivers of carts, and such like, of whom there were verymany, he ordered to go behind a height called the Gillies' Hill--thatis, the Servants' Hill. He then spoke to the soldiers, and expressedhis determination to gain the victory or to lose his life on the fieldof battle. He desired that all those who did not propose to fight tothe last would leave the field before the battle began, and that nonewould remain except those who were determined to take the issue ofvictory or death, as God should send it. 

45. Burns has expressed Bruce's sentiments in his fiery poem. 

BRUCE'S ADDRESS. 

 46. Scots who have with Wallace bled, Scots whom Bruce has often led, Welcome to your gory bed Or to victory! Now's the day, and now's the hour; See the front of battle lower; See approach proud Edward's power, Chains, and slavery!

 47. Who would be a traitor knave, Who would fill a coward's grave, Who so base as be a slave, Let him turn and flee! Who for Scotland's king and law, Freedom's sword will strongly draw, Freeman stand, or freeman fa', Let him follow me!

 48. By oppressions, woes, and pains, By our sons in servile chains, We will drain our dearest veins, But they shall be free! Lay the proud usurper low Tyrants fall in every foe-- Liberty at every blow; Let us do or die!

49. When the main body of his army was thus placed in order, the kingposted Randolph, with a body of horse, near to the church of St. Mirau's, commanding him to use the utmost diligence to prevent anysuccorers from being thrown into Stirling Castle. He then dismissedJames of Douglas and Sir Robert Keith, the marshal of the Scottisharmy, in order that they might survey, as nearly as they could, theEnglish force, which was now approaching from Falkirk. They returnedwith information that the approach of that vast host was one of themost beautiful and terrible sights which could be seen; that the wholecountry seemed covered with men-at-arms on horse and foot; that thenumber of standard banners and pennants made so gallant a show, thatthe bravest and most numerous host in Christendom might be alarmed tosee King Edward moving against them. 

50. It was upon the 23d of June, 1314, that the King of Scotland heardthe news that the English army were approaching Stirling. He drew outhis army, therefore, in the order which he had before resolved upon. After a short time, Bruce, who was looking out anxiously for theenemy, saw a body of English cavalry trying to get into Stirling fromthe eastward. This was the Lord Clifford, who, with a chosen body ofeight hundred horse, had been detached to relieve the castle. 

51. "See, Randolph, " said the king to his nephew, "there is a rosefallen from your chaplet. " By this be meant that Randolph has lostsome honor by suffering the enemy to pass where he had been commandedto follow them. Randolph made no reply, but rushed against Cliffordwith little more than half his number. The Scots were on foot. TheEnglish turned to charge them with their lances, and Randolph drew uphis men in close order to receive them. He seemed to be in so muchdanger that Douglas asked leave of the king to go and assist him. Theking refused permission. 

52. "Let Randolph, " he said, "redeem his own fault. I can not breakthe order of battle for his sake. " Still the danger appeared greater, and the English horse seemed entirely to encompass the small handfulof Scottish infantry. "To please you, " said Douglas to the king, "myheart will not suffer me to stand idle and see Randolph perish. I mustgo to his assistance. " He rode off accordingly, but long before theyhad reached the place of combat they saw the English horses gallopingoff, many with their empty saddles. 

53. "Halt!" said Douglas to his men. "Randolph has gained the day. Since we were not soon enough to help him in the battle, do not let uslessen his glory by approaching the field. " Now, that was nobly done, especially as Douglas and Randolph were always contending which shouldrise highest in the good opinion of the king and the nation. 

54. The van of the English army now came in sight, and a number oftheir bravest knights drew near to see what the Scottish were doing. They saw King Robert dressed in his armor, and distinguished by a goldcrown which he wore over his helmet. He was not mounted on his greatwar horse, because he did not expect to fight that evening. But herode on a little pony up and down the ranks of his army, putting hismen in order, and carried in his hand a short battle-axe made ofsteel. When the king saw the English horsemen draw near, he advanced alittle before his own men, that he might look at them more nearly. 

55. There was a knight among the English called Sir Henry de Bohun, who thought this would be a good opportunity to gain great fame tohimself and put an end to the war by killing King Robert. The kingbeing poorly mounted, and having no lance, Bohun galloped on himsuddenly and furiously, thinking, with his long spear and his bigstrong horse, easily to bear him down to the ground. King Robert sawhim and permitted him to come very near, then suddenly turned his ponya little to one side, so that Sir Henry missed him with the lancepoint, and was in the act of being carried past him by the career ofhis horse. But as he passed, King Robert rose up in his stirrups andstruck Sir Henry on the head with his battle-axe so terrible a blowthat it broke to pieces his iron helmet, as if it had been anut-shell, and hurled him from his saddle. He was dead before hereached the ground. This gallant action was blamed by the Scottishleaders, who thought Bruce ought not to have exposed himself to somuch danger when the safety of the whole army depended on him. Theking only kept looking at his weapon, which was injured by the forceof the blow, and said, "I have broken my good battle-axe. " This isthe way Scott describes this incident in the "Lord of the Isles":

 56. O gay yet fearful to behold, Flashing with steel and rough with gold, And bristled o'er with balls and spears, With plumes and pennons waving fair, Was that bright battle front! for there Rode England's king and peers. 

 57. And who that saw that monarch ride, His kingdom battling by his side, Could then his direful doom foretell; Fair was his seat in knightly selle, And in his sprightly eye was set Some sparks of the Plantagenet. Though bright and wandering was his glance, It flashed at sight of shield and lance. "Knowest thou, " he said, "De Argentine, Yon knight who marshals thus their line?"

 58. "The tokens on his helmet tell The Bruce, my liege; I know him well. " "And shall the audacious traitor brave The presence where our banners wave?" "So please my liege, " said Argentine, "Were he but horsed on steed like mine, To give him fair and knightly chance, I would adventure forth my lance. "

 59. "In battle-day, " the king replied, "Nice tourne rules are set aside; Still must the rebel dare our wrath! Set on him--sweep him from our path!" And, at King Edward's signal, soon Dashed from the ranks Sir Edward Bohun!

 60. Of Hereford's high blood he came, A race renowned for knightly fame; He burned before his monarch's eye To do some deed of chivalry. He spurred his steed, he couched his lance, And darted on the Bruce at once. As motionless as rocks, that bide The wrath of the advancing tide, The Bruce stood fast; each breast beat high, And dazzled was each gazing eye; The heart had hardly time to think, The eyelid scarce had time to wink, While on the king, like flash of flame, Spurred to full speed, the war-horse came! The partridge may the falcon mock, If that slight palfrey stand the shock; But, swerving from the knight's career, Just as they met, Bruce shunned the spear; Onward the baffled warrior bore His course--but soon his course was o'er! High in his stirrups stood the king, And gave his battle-axe the swing. Right on De Bohun, the whiles he passed, Fell that stern dint--the first--the last! Such strength upon the blow was put, The helmet crushed like hazel-nut, The axe-shaft, with its brazen clasp, Was shivered to the gauntlet grasp. Springs from the blow the startled horse, Drops on the plain the lifeless corse; First of that fatal field, how soon, How sudden fell the fierce De Bohun!

 61. One pitying glance the monarch shed Where on the field his foe lay dead; Then gently turned his palfrey's head, And, pacing back his sober way, Slowly he gained his own array. There round their king the leaders crowd And blame his recklessness aloud, That risked 'gainst each adventurous spear A life so valued and so dear. His broken weapon's shaft surveyed The king, and careless answer made "My loss must pay my folly's tax-- I've broke my trusty battle-axe"

62. The next morning, being the 24th of June, at break of day thebattle began in terrible earnest. The English as they advanced saw theScots getting into lines. The Abbot of Inchaffray walked through theirranks barefooted, and exhorted them to fight for their freedom. Theykneeled down as he passed, and prayed to heaven for victory. KingEdward, who saw this, called out: "They kneel down; they are askingforgiveness. " "Yes, " said a celebrated English baron, called Ingelramde Umphraville, "but they ask it from God, not from us; these men willconquer, or die upon the field. " The English king ordered his men tobegin the battle. The archers then bent their bows, and began to shootso closely together that the arrows fell like flakes of snow on aChristmas-day. 

 63. Upon the right, behind the wood, Each by his steed, dismounted, stood The Scottish chivalry; With foot in stirrup, hand on mane, Fierce Edward Bruce can scarce restrain His own keen heart, his eager train, Until the archers gain the plain; Then "Mount ye gallants free!" He cried; and, vaulting from the ground, His saddle every horseman found. On high their glittering crests they toss, As springs the wild-fire from the moss; The shield hangs down on every breast, Each ready lance is in the rest, And loud shouts Edward Bruce: "Forth, marshal! on the peasant foe We'll tame the terrors of their bow, And cut the bow-string loose!"

 64. Then spurs were dashed in chargers' flanks, They rushed among the archer ranks. No spears were there the shock to let, No stakes to turn the charge were set, And bow shall yeoman's armor slight, Stand the long lance and mace of might? Or what may their short swords avail, 'Gainst barbed horse and shirt of mail? Amid their ranks the chargers spring, High o'er their heads the weapons swing, And shriek and groan and vengeful shout Give note of triumph and of rout! Awhile, with stubborn hardihood, Their English hearts the strife made good; Borne down at length on every side, Compelled to flight, they scatter wide. Let stags of Sherwood leap for glee, And bound the deer of Dallorn-Lee! The broken bows of Bannock's shore Shall in the greenwood ring no more! Round Wakefield's merry May-pole now, The maids may twine the summer bough, May northward look with longing glance For those that went to lead the dance, For the blithe archers look in vain! Broken, dispersed, in flight o'erta'en, Pierced through, trod down, by thousands slain, They cumber Bannock's bloody plain!

65. The fine English cavalry then advanced to support their archers, and to attack the Scottish line. But coming over the ground which wasdug full of pits the horses fell into these holes, and the riders laytumbling about, without any means of defense, and unable to rise, fromthe weight of their armor. The Englishmen began to fall into generaldisorder; and the Scottish king, bringing up more of his forces, attacked and pressed them still more closely. 

66. On a sudden an event happened which decided the victory. Theservants and attendants on the Scottish camp bad been sent behind thearmy to a place called Gillies' Hill; but now, when they saw thattheir masters were like to gain the day, they rushed from their placeof concealment with such weapons as they could get, that they mighthave their share in the victory and in the spoil. The English, seeingthem come suddenly over the hill, mistook the disorderly rabble for anew army coming up to sustain the Scots; and, losing all heart, beganto shift every man for himself. Edward himself left the field as fastas he could ride, and was closely pursued by Douglas, with a party ofhorse, who followed him as far as Dunbar, where the English had stilla friend in the governor, Patrick, Earl of Mans. The earl receivedEdward in his forlorn condition, and furnished him with a fishingskiff, or small ship, in which he escaped to England, having entirelylost his fine army, and a great number of his bravest nobles. 

67. The English never before or afterward lost so dreadful a battle asthat of Bannockburn, nor did the Scots ever gain one of the sameimportance. Many of the best and bravest of the English nobility andgentry lay dead on the field; a great many more were made prisoners, and the whole of King Edward's immense army was dispersed ordestroyed. 

68. Thus did Robert Bruce arise from the condition of an exile, huntedwith blood-bounds like a stag or beast of prey, to the rank of anindependent sovereign, universally acknowledged to be one of thewisest and bravest kings who then lived. The nation of Scotland wasalso raised once more from the state of a distressed and conqueredprovince to that of a free and independent state, governed by its ownlaws, and subject to its own princes; and although the country was, after the Bruce's death, often subjected to great loss and distress, both by the hostility of the English and by the unhappy civil warsamong the Scots themselves, yet they never afterward lost the freedomfor which Wallace had laid down his life, and which King Robert hadrecovered no less by his wisdom than by his weapons. And thereforemost just it is that, while the country of Scotland retains anyrecollection of its history, the memory of these brave warriors andfaithful patriots ought to be remembered with honor and gratitude. 

69. In 1328, fourteen years after the battle of Bannockburn, peace wasconcluded between England and Scotland, in which the Englishsurrendered all pretension to the Scottish crown. King Robert was nowfifty-four years old, and he prepared to enter upon a crusade inaccordance with his vow, and in expiation of his offense of slayingthe Red Comyn. But, being smitten with a fatal disease, he directedLord James, of Douglas, upon his death, to take his heart and carry itto Palestine, in fulfillment of his vow. Douglas accepted the sacredtrust, and encased the heart in silver, and hung it about his neck. Onhis way to the Holy Land he turned aside to help the Spaniard in acampaign against the Moors. In one battle, being sorely beset, heflung the heart of Bruce into the midst of the enemy, and followed itup with the war-cry of the Douglas, which had so often cheered tovictory among his native hills. At every step a Moslem bit the dustuntil he reached the spot where his master's heart had fallen. Here hewas slain by the numbers which pressed in on every side, and he wasfound with his body still in the attitude of guarding the heart. Thebody of Lord James, together with the heart, were returned to ScotlandThe precious relic--the last that remained of the Bruce, the greatestof Scottish kings--was deposited in Melrose Abbey, where it remainsto-day a sacred shrine for every Scotchman, and for every lover ofliberty. Rarely in the history of man has the prediction of the oldabbot been so literally fulfilled:

"I bless thee, and thou shalt be blest!"

CHAPTER V. 

_COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. _

THE TIME. 

1. Columbus lived in a stirring age. Everywhere light was breaking inafter centuries of darkness, and all Europe was restless withsuggestions and beginnings of new life. Great men were plenty; rulers, like the Medici of Florence; artists, like Raphael and Angelo;preachers, like Savonarola, whose fiery prophecies brought him tofiery death; reformers, chief among diem Luther, just beginning tothink the thoughts that later set the world agog. Great inventionswere spreading; gun-powder, invented before, now becoming terriblyeffective through the improvement in guns; printing, suddenly openingknowledge to every class; the little compass, with which mariners werejust beginning to trust themselves boldly on the seas, in spite of thepopular impression that it was a sort of infernal machine presidedover by the devil himself. 

[Illustration: SHIPS OF COLUMBUS]

2. And to this age had been bequeathed the fascinating stories of SirJohn Mandeville and Marco Polo, stories to make every boy crazy to beoff to seek his fortune. From their travels in Asia these men hadbrought back the most remarkable accounts of the eastern lands. Acountry was there, they said, called Cathay, bordering on the sea. Itwas ruled by an emperor, the Kubla Khan, or Great Khan, who lightedhis bedroom with a bright jewel half a foot long, set upon goldenpillars, and decorated his walls with wrought gold and hundreds ofprecious stones. The rivers of the land were crossed by marblebridges, and the houses were roofed and paved with gold. The seas werefull of islands where spices grew and countless strange creatureslived: one-eyed men; men with a lip long enough to cover their wholeface; men with only one foot, but that so large that they held it overthem like an umbrella when they lay down in the sun to rest;two-headed men and men with no heads at all; men whose only food wassnakes, and others whose favorite beverage was human blood; dragonsand unicorns; woolly hens and sheep that grew on trees; and in oneisland a valley where only devils dwelt. But there were besides greathills of gold, cities with towers of silver and gold, precious stonesof all kinds, and rose-tinted pearls, big and round. 

3. There was trade between Europe and certain parts of Asia which theycalled the Indies, and reached by going east and south by land; butthis marvelous country of the Grand Khan lay beyond, and its richesremained a golden dream, known only by the travelers' reports. Thatwas what was known of Asia. Of Africa, even less; for, fifty yearsbefore Columbus was born, only a strip across the northern part of itwas known, and south of that lay "nothing, " said the people. And ofAmerica, our wide-stretching America, they never dreamed. 

4. Some fifty years before the birth of Columbus, Prince Henry ofPortugal, studying the matter, came to the conclusion that the worlddid not necessarily end at "Cape Nothing, " on the African coast, aspeople said, but perhaps extended a long way farther; and, having anabundance of time and money, he began to send out ships to sail alongbeyond the cape and see what they could find. And they found a long, long coast. Year after year, until the prince was a gray-haired oldman, he sent out vessel after vessel; and, though often storm-drivenand wrecked, and unsuccessful, they many times came back with accountsof new discoveries. One by one they brought the numerous islands lyingoff the northwest coast of Africa to the notice of the people ofEurope. And after they once got past that mysterious "Cape Nothing, "they sailed along the coast, going farther and farther on successivevoyages, until, in 1487, long after Prince Henry's death, and justbefore Columbus's great voyage, the most southern point was rounded, the African continent was known, and the long-sought water-way to theIndies was established. 

THE IDEA. 

5. As to the date of Columbus's birth, historians can not agree withinsome ten years. It was doubtless some where between 1435 and 1446. They also give different accounts as to his birthplace; but it seemsmost probable that he was born in Genoa, on the Mediterranean, the sonof a wool-carder, and that he went to school in Pavia. At fourteen hebecame a sailor. 

6. Up and down the seas, first in the sunny Mediterranean, later alongthe stormy Atlantic coast, sailed the lad, the young man, in the smallsailing vessels of the time, and learned well the ocean which heafterward so boldly trusted. 

[Illustration: View of Genoa]

7. He was a daring, quick-witted, handsome, bronzed young man when hewent to Lisbon, where his brother Bartholomew was established as acosmographer, making charts for seamen; and with all his enthusiasmfor his sea-faring life, he had enough interest in ordinary pursuitsto fall in love most romantically. It happened on account of his beingso regular at church. Every day he must attend service, and every dayto church came Donna Philippa Palestrello, who lived in a convent nearby. Across the seats flitted involuntary glances between thecloistered maiden and the handsome brown sailor--with a dimple in hischin, some pictures have him; something besides prayers were readbetween the lines of the prayer-book, and the marriage which closedthis churchly wooing proved the wisdom of both parties. 

8. Philippa's father had been one of Prince Henry's famous seamen andthe governor of Porto Santo, one of the new-found islands; and afterhis marriage, Columbus lived sometimes at Porto Santo, sometimes atLisbon, and much of the time on the sea. He sailed south along theAfrican coast to Guinea; north he sailed to England, and farther on toIceland. Wherever ships could go, there went he, intent on learningall there was to know of the world he lived in. He read eagerly allthat was written about the earth's shape and size. The modern scienceof his time he well understood. He pored over the maps of the ancientgeographer Ptolemy, over the maps of Cosmas, a later geographer, overPalestrello's charts, given him by Philippa's mother. 

9. Ptolemy said the world is round, but Cosmas, whom good Christianswere bound to believe, since he founded his science on the Bible, saidit is flat, with a wall around it to hold up the sky--very probable, certainly. But that notion of the ancients that the world is "roundlike a ball" had been caught up and believed by a handful of menscattered sparsely down through the centuries, and of late leadgained, among advanced scientists, more of a following than ever. AndColumbus, who, with all his enthusiasm for adventure and his reverencefor religion and he church, had a clear, unbiased, scientific head, mentally turned his back upon Cosmas, and clasped hands with theancients and the wisest scientists of his own day. 

10. The north was known, the south was fast becoming so, the east hadbeen penetrated, but the west was unexplored. Stretching along fromThule, the distant Iceland, to the southern part of the great Africancontinent, thousands of miles, lay the "Sea of Darkness, " as thepeople called it. What lay beyond? The question had been asked before, times enough; times enough answered for any reasonable man. "Hell wasthere, " said one superstition, "Haven't you seen the flames atsunset-time?" "A sea thick like paste, in which no ships can sail, "said another. "Darkness, " said another, "thick darkness, the blacknessof nothing, and the end of all created things!"

11. There _was_ a legend that over there beyond was Paradise, and St. Brandan, wandering about the seas, had reached it. The ancients toldof an island Atlantis over there somewhere in the West, and one ofthem had said: "In the last days an age will come when ocean shallloose the chains of things; a wonderful country will be discovered, and Tiphis shall make known new worlds, nor shall Thule be the end ofthe earth. "

12. Ah, to be the discoverer of Atlantis or Paradise! "But, if theworld is round, " said Columbus, "it is not hell that lies beyond thatstormy sea. Over there _must_ lie the eastern strand of Asia, the Cathayof Marco Polo, the land of the Kubla Khan, and Cipango, the greatisland beyond it. " "Nonsense!" said the neighbors; "the world isn'tround--can't you _see_ it is flat? And Cosmas Indicopleustes, who livedhundreds of years before you were born, says it is flat; and he got itfrom the Bible. You're no good Christian to be taking up with suchheathenish notions!" Thought Columbus, "I will write to PaoloToscanelli, at Florence, and see what be will say. "

13. So Columbus wrote, and Toscanelli, the wise scientist, answeredthat the idea of sailing west was good and feasible; and with theletter came a map, on which Asia and the great island Cipango werelaid down opposite Europe, with the Atlantic between, exactly asColumbus imagined it. Toscanelli said it was easy enough: "You may becertain of meeting with extensive kingdoms, populous cities, and richprovinces, abounding in all sorts of precious stones; and your visitwill cause great rejoicing to the king and princes of those distantlands, besides opening a way for communication between them and theChristians, and the instruction of them in the Catholic religion andthe arts we possess. " It was 1474 when this encouragement came, andfrom this time all the sailor's thoughts and plans turned toward thewest. 

14. The life at home between his voyages, whether spent with hisbrother, the cosmographer, at Lisbon, or with his wife and sailorbrother-in-law, on the Porto Santo island, was hardly less nauticalthan the voyages themselves. Porto Santo was in line with theship-routes to and from Spain and all the new-found African coast andislands; and the family there, with the men sailors and geographers, and the women, wives and daughters of sailors and geographers, livedin the bracing salt sea-air, full of the tingle of adventure. 

15. Wild stories tell the sailors, coming and going, whom one canscarce contradict for lack of certain knowledge; and is it not an ageof wonders in real life? And the round earth, the round earth--_is_ itround? And the empire of the Grand Khan just over the western waterthere--not far! The sailors said that on the shores of one of theislands two dead men of strange appearance had been washed in from thewest. The sailors said they had picked up curiously-carved sticksdrifting from the west. Pedro Correa himself, Columbus'sbrother-in-law, and a man to be trusted, had found one floating fromthe west. And there was a legend of the sight of land lying like afaint cloud along that western horizon. 

16. "The world _is_ round, " said Columbus. "It is not very large" (hethought it much smaller than it is), "and opposite us across that sealies Asia; and to Asia by way of that sea I will go. There, in thewest, lies my duty to God and man; I will carry salvation to theheathen, and bring back gold for the Christians. From the 'Occident tothe Orient' a path I will find through the waters. "

THE WAITING. 

17. Such a venture as Columbus proposed could scarcely be carried outat that time except by the help of kings, so to the kings wentColumbus. 

18. Naturally, Portugal, with her proved interest in discovery, camefirst in his thought; and before Portugal's king he laid his project. The king should fit him out with vessels and men, and with themColumbus would sail to the Indies, not by the route around Africa, which the Portuguese had so long been seeking, but by a nearerway--straight across the Atlantic. Think of the untold wealth from theempire of the khan rolling in to Portugal if this connection could beestablished! And think of converting those heathen to our blessedmother church! It was worth thinking about, and the king called acouncil of his wise men to consider the startling idea. Not long werethe wise men in wisely deciding that the plan was the wild scheme ofan adventurer, likely to come to no good whatever; and when the king, hardly satisfied, laid it before another council, they, too, wiselydeclared it ridiculous. 

19. O ye owlish dignitaries! Still, the king was not convinced. "Wehave discovered much by daring adventure, why not more?" "Stick to thecoast, and don't go sailing straight away from all known land intowaters unknown and mysterious, " said the wise men. "But if the unknownwaters bring us to the riches of Cathay?" said the king. "That's theextravagant dream of a visionary; it contains no truth and muchdanger, " said the wise men. "Try it yourself, and see. Unbeknown tothis Columbus, just send out a ship of your own to the west, and letthem come back and tell us what they find. "

20. It was a most underhand piece of business all around; but the kingyielded and sent out a ship, which presently came back again with thereport that there was no Cathay there, and they hadn't found anyCipango; it was all nonsense! And what they had met with was a bigstorm that scared them terribly. So Columbus retired, and left theking of Portugal to his brave sailors and wise councilors. 

21. Next will come Spain, and meantime he will send his brotherBartholomew to present the plan at the English court. 

22. The Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, were down inAndalusia, that beautiful southern province of Spain, in the midst ofa war with the Moors, who occupied certain portions of the land, andwhom the Spaniards were trying to drive out. So, his wife being nowdead, Columbus took his little boy Diego, and to Andalusia they went. They stopped at Palos by the sea, and from there set out on foot. Theway was long, and Diego could not go far without getting very thirsty;and his father stopping at a great, dark, stone convent, called Mariade la Rabida, to get him a drink, the prior asked them in to rest abit. As they talked, Columbus soon told of his great project, to sailto the Indies by way of the western sea. 

23. The prior, in his long dark robe and shaved head, opened his eyesat this and wanted to hear more. "Novel project this, " thought he;"very novel-most astonishing I must have my friend, Dr. Fernandez, hear it. " So a messenger was sent to Palos to fetch the doctor, andColumbus went over again the wonderful plan--just to sail west, not sovery far, over the round earth, and reach the stately cities ofCathay, and convert the Grand Khan to the faith, and gather of theplentiful gold and jewels of that land. Little Diego stood by andlistened with wide-open eyes, and the doctor pondered, while the priorgazed out from the western window upon the Atlantic, and Columbus benteager eyes and flushed face over his chart. 

21. "Why, it may be possible! Send for Martin Alonzo Pinzon. He is aseaman; let us see what he thinks!"

25. To Palos again goes the messenger, to the rich and influentialcitizen, Alonzo Pinzon, and tells him he is wanted at La Pabida. "Ah, Alonzo Pinzon!" greets him--the prior, "come and hear what a manproposes to do; and a wise and courageous sailor he seems, though poorenough!" And a third time they bend over the charts there in the darkstone convent, and Alonzo Pinzon hears of the western route to India;and Diego gazes from one to the other, and hopes in his heart that hisfather will take him along--he wants to see the unicorns. Pinzoncatches the idea with enthusiasm, promising to help Columbus withmoney and influence, and to go with him if he goes. The doctor, cogitating upon the statements and arguments, concludes that they makequite a reasonable showing, and advises Columbus to go on. 

26. The prior says: "Go at once to the court. Talavera, the queen'sconfessor, is a good friend of mine, and a letter of introduction tohim will gain you access to the king and queen. They will surely helpyou. " Diego clasps his hands. "Will you stay with me, Diego?" saysthe long-robed prior. "I'd rather go to court, " says Diego. "Nay, myson, " says Columbus, "if the good prior will keep you, I will leaveyou here while I go on my uncertain errand. " So the little boy standsin the great stone doorway and watches his father out of sight towardCordova. 

27. At Cordova is nothing but excitement and confusion. The army isjust starting upon a campaign against the Moors. Talavera ispreoccupied, has his hands full of business, and can scarcely giveColumbus time enough to state his errand. "Dear me, a new route to theIndies! But don't you see how busy we are with this war? It isprobably all nonsense--sounds like it. The court in war-time can notwaste precious hours over the consideration of such wild visions asthis. " So Columbus takes lodgings in Cordova, supports himself bychart-making, talks to everybody about the new route to Asia, andwaits. Such a man with such a story is likely to gain some attention, and by and by he begins to have friends. Several of the importantpoliticians come to know him, some are converts to his theory, andfinally the grand cardinal himself procures him an audience with theking and queen. 

28. Enthusiastically the "one-idea'd man" unfolds his theories toroyalty. The land of the Grand Khan, with its untold treasure, thesalvation of millions of souls in the Indies, are the vivid points. The earth is a sphere, and a ship may sail straight from Spain toCipango, urges this man of imagination and faith. The king was notslow to perceive the great advantages which success in such anenterprise would bring to the government that undertook it; but hemust consult the wise men. Talavera should head a commission composedof the great men in the church, great men of science, and professorsin the universities. Surely no man could ask for more. So toSalamanca, seat of the greatest Spanish university, Columbus went toconvince the commission. 

29. In the hall of the convent there was assembled the imposingcompany--shaved monks in gowns of black and gray, fashionably dressedmen from the court in jaunty bats, cardinals in scarlet robes--all thedignity and learning of Spain, gathered and waiting for the man andhis idea. 

30. He stands before them with his charts, and explains his beliefthat the world is round, and that Asia stretches from the easternboundary of Europe to a point something like four thousand miles fromSpain. Hence Asia could be reached by sailing due west across theAtlantic. They had heard something of this before at Cordova, and hereat Salamanca, before the commission was formally assembled, and theyhad their arguments ready. 

31. You think the earth is round, and inhabited on the other side? Areyou not aware that the holy fathers of the church have condemned thisbelief? Say the fathers, the Scriptures tell us all men are descendedfrom Adam; but certainly no men descended from Adam live in such aregion as this you speak of--the antipodes. Will you contradict thefathers? The Holy Scriptures, too, tell us expressly that the heavensare spread out like a tent, and how can that be true if the earth isnot flat like the ground the tent stands on? This theory of yourslooks heretical. 

32. Columbus might well quake in his boots at the mention of heresy;for there was that new Inquisition just in fine running order, withits elaborate bone-breaking, flesh-pinching, thumb-screwing, banging, burning, mangling system for heretics. What would become of the Ideaif he should get passed over to that energetic institution?

33. "I am a true and loyal Catholic, " he cries; "I wish to convert theGrand Khan's people to our blessed faith. I believe the Bible, and Godhimself sends me on this mission. But these words of the Scripturesare to be taken as a figure, not as literal facts of science. " "Willthis sailor teach us how to read the Scriptures!" growl the monks. 

34 "Well, for argument, suppose this world is round, and you couldsail west to the Indies. The voyage would take years, and you couldnot carry food enough to keep you from starving. "

35. "But I believe it is only a voyage of four thousand miles, andcan, with favoring winds, be accomplished in a short time, " saysColumbus, stating his scientific reasons for this belief. "Will thissailor teach us science!" growl the professors. "Well, all this _may_ betrue; but really, can you expect us to believe that there is a landbeneath us where people walk with their feet _up_, and trees grow _down_?"Oh, foolish Columbus! What an absurd idea! "And, besides, if thesignor should succeed in sailing down around the earth to thispeculiar region, how does he propose to get back again? Will his shipsail up-hill?"

36. Oh, the nudgings and winks among the monks at this poser! And theprofessors smile triumphantly. "And, anyway, who are you, SignorColombo, to set yourself up to know more than all the world beside?Haven't men been sailing in all the seas ever since the time of Noah, and, if such a thing as this were possible, would not somebody havefound it out long ago?" With sound science, reverent religion, enthusiastic imagination and faith, he answered them, this unknownsailor, and left them bewildered by his views and impressed by hispersonality. "Perhaps there is truth in the matter, " said the monks ofSt. Stephen. They said they would think about it, and they did thinkabout it, and it took them four years to think about it. Meantime theyadjourned and went about their own affairs, and Columbus went back tocourt. 

37. The campaign against the Moors began, and from that time to theend of those weary years Columbus followed the court from place toplace, over the hills and valleys of beautiful Andalusia. Sometimes hemade charts for his support, sometimes be fought in the battles, sometimes he talked with the courtiers, or begged audience with theking to urge him to a decision; but always was with him that one dreamon which he was staking all his time and strength--the best years andthe fullest power of his manhood--hope of his heart, purpose of hiswill, that one Idea possessing him in vivid, unwavering faith. 

38. The queen was kind. His enthusiasm and sound judgment, hispersistent faith in his idea, his dignity and strong determination, tempered by the most manly religion, made him friends even among hisexaminers at Salamanca; and so he hoped and waited. Think of it--fouryears of suspense on top of thirteen years of thought and study andinvestigation toward one end! And when at last Talavera assembled thewise men of the commission: to announce the result of their longdeliberation, they had come to this wise conclusion: that the wholething was foolish and impossible, unworthy of a great king'sattention. 

39. Better give it up, Cristoforo Colombo, and make charts for aliving the rest of your days. No, says Colombo, that western oceanmust be crossed. He turns to the powerful Spanish nobles. They arefriendly, but hardly dare take up the project. He will go to Franceand present his case. But first to La Rabida to see Diego, a tall ladnow. "What!" says the prior, "no success? Too bad, too bad! But Spainmust not give the glory of this great undertaking to France. I knowthe queen, and I will write to her; I was her confessor once. "

40. He wrote with such force that he was summoned to the queen atonce, and his earnest pleading determined Isabella to send again forColumbus. But again disappointment came, for they took offense atColumbus's high demands and would not grant them. The Spanishsovereigns were to furnish the largest share of the equipment; heshould be admiral of the seas, and he and his sons after him were torule, under the king, the countries discovered, and share in all theprofits of the enterprise. Bold demands from an adventurer! Seventeenyears of waiting might have taught him common sense; but with hisabsurd faith and uncommon sense he would accept no other terms, andturned away again with his Idea and his determination. 

41. "Too bad, too bad!" said St. Angel, the tax-collector; "_I_ willplead with the queen. She must not let slip this chance of enrichingthe king--_and_ converting the khan. I will myself lend the moneynecessary, if the king can't afford it. " Said Isabella to St. Angel:"I think as you do. This is a wonderful plan. Let them say what theywill, by my own right I am queen of Castile, as well as queen ofSpain, and I pledge the crown of Castile to raise for CristoforoColombo a suitable equipment to sail to the Indies by the west. Lethim make his own terms. "

42. At last the fretting applications, the repeated explanations, theharrowing suspense, the long restriction are over, and the strongwings of the sea-bird are free to bear away over the Atlantic. 

THE VOYAGE. 

43. At Palos, in Southern Spain, three small ships were provided. One, the Santa Maria, in which Columbus was to sail, was fully decked; theother two--the Pinta and the Niña--had decks and cabins only at theends. As for crews, to secure them was no easy matter. Not manysailors cared to trust themselves upon that unknown "Sea of Darkness. " Not many believed in this story of a western route to Asia. 

44. A few, with visions of the Grand Khan's palaces and the marveloussights of the East, would go for adventure's sake, and risk themystery between. A few, thinking of the "great hills of gold, " wouldrisk the danger of tumbling into hell midway for the chance of gettingsafely across to the land of treasure. Alonzo Pinzon was on hand, ashe had promised, and was given command of the Pinta, while the Niñawas put in charge of his brother Vincent. Royal pardon for crimes andoffenses was offered for any who would undertake this voyage, and sosome jail-birds were added to the company. Queer stuff for such anundertaking! But beggars can not be choosers, and Cristoforo Colombomight be thankful that he could get anybody for his fool's errand!

45. On August 3, 1492, in the early morning, the three ships lay inPalos harbor, and down to Palos harbor flock all the town to see themoff for Cathay. Groups of trades-people shudder companionably over thevague terrors of the Atlantic, and chatter over the probabilities ofthe adventurers' return with untold wealth. Excited women-bareheadedlikely-gaze again upon the strong, controlled face of Columbus, andthank God for this missionary to the Grand Khan-only the dark sea willsurely be his destruction before he gets there! Children wrigglethrough the throng and stare at the men who are soon to find out whatbecomes of the sun when it sets, and to know for themselves whether orno it hisses and makes the water boil. The sailors make their waytoward the ships through a running fire of conversation andhand-clasps, culminating at the dock in general good-byes and theclinging embraces and sobs of daughters and sweethearts and wives. ThePinzons are there with their friends. Dr. Fernandez is going, too, andthe prior of La Rabida, in his long robe, is exulting with him overthis success. Diego, soon to go to court as page to the prince, isthere to bid his father good-by. 

46. Now all are on the docks ready to embark. A hundred and twenty mento brave the unknown terrors of that sea stretching before them! Theprior steps gravely down among them, carrying the sacred host;kneeling before him, Columbus murmurs his last confession and receivesthe communion; and after him the Pinzons and the sailors reverentlycommune. The people are silent as the prior blesses the departingones, and then the ships are manned, the sails spread, and Paloswatches until they flutter, like white birds, out of sight-never toreturn! moan the daughters and the sweethearts and the wives; and thechildren, with wide dark eyes, whisper of the unicorns and dragons ofthe East. 

47. Off at last! Oh, the exhilaration of it! Admiral of three ricketyships and all the unknown seas; governor of a hundred disreputablesailors and the realms of Cathay!

48. They had not been out three days when the Pinta's rudder got outof order. That crew of the Pinta had been none too willing to start onthis rash expedition, and Columbus had his suspicions that they put itout of order on purpose. Perhaps they did; anyway, the next day it wasreported broken again, and Columbus pointed for one of the CanaryIslands to get it mended. "We are going to Cathay by way of thewestern ocean, " they said in reply to the islanders' questions. "Oh, "said the islanders, "every year we can see land lying west of us, awayoff there. You will find it, though none of us have been there. " Someweeks of delay that unseaworthy Pinta caused; but at last, onSeptember 6th, they were once more started. Now, _to the west_! And, with their homes and the known world behind them, into the west theysailed!

49. Hardly had the land disappeared when the sailors, dismayed attheir own boldness, began to be frightened enough. The steersmen letthe vessels drift around a bit. "Steer to the _west_!" sternly criedColumbus. There was grumbling in the crew, and the admiral showed hiswit by commencing then and there two records of the distance traveledeach day. The record for the faithless sailors' edification showedfewer miles than the reality, and the truth of the matter no one knewbut himself, from that day until he brought them safe to the otherside. The fifth day a fragment of a ship drifted by them--"a wreck!"cried the sailors, and grew gloomy over the bad omen. One night a"remarkable bolt of fire" fell into the sea, and the superstitious menwere panic-stricken. How could they go on in the face of this messagefrom heaven? But go on they must. This remarkable admiral said calmly:"Steer to the west. "

50. As the days went on "they began to meet large patches of weeds, very green. " "We must be near to land, " said the sailors. "Perhapssome island, " said the admiral; "but the continent we shall findfurther ahead. " Another strange thing happened. That little compass, their only sure guide to Cathay, began to behave as if it too had lostits head over this foolhardy undertaking. The neighbors at home hadwarned them that the devil managed the compass; and this needle, neverknown to point anywhere but north, now pointed west of north! Was thedevil steering them for hell? Heaven's fiery bolt had warned them;they had not heeded, and now the devil was tampering with the compass. Poor sailors! They looked fiercely on Columbus, and wished themselveswell out of this business. But the admiral faced the strangeoccurrence quietly, though his heart may well have beat fearfully, andproceeded to investigate its cause. He soon announced it. "It is thenorth star that moves, " he coolly informed the terrified men, "theneedle is always true. " The admiral was certainly a marvelously wiseman, and the sailors said no more. 

51. Eleven days out. No thickening of the sea yet, except with thismass of floating weed. No darkness, except the darkness of night. Nonearer the sunset, and always at sunset-time that golden western pathacross the water. Weeds, weeds--vast stretches of weeds; they mustbetoken land; and a live crab discovered among them would surely seemto indicate it. The sea is smooth, the air clear. It is like"Andalusia in April, all but the nightingales, " exclaims the admiral. What would you give to hear a nightingale just now, brave-heartedadmiral, gazing into the moonlit infinity of silence that enspheresyou! You can not bear the crystal tension; go below to the relief ofthe narrow room and the journal faithfully kept!

52. More signs of land. They kill tunnies--sure sign, say the sailors. And all the signs are from the west, "where I hope the high God inwhose hand is all victory will speedily direct us to land, " writes theadmiral. Even the faithless sailors begin to forget their sullendisapproval, and the three ships race merrily to see which shall firstdiscover land. Great flocks of birds Alonzo Pinzon saw from the Pinta. "This very night we shall reach land, I believe!" he exulted; and thePinta swiftly shot ahead, expecting to sight the shore at any moment. "There must be islands all about us, " thought the admiral; "but wewill not stay for them now. Straight to the west!"

53. Still no land, for all the signs and eager watching. Leagues ofundulating weeds, but no land! And the faint-hearted sailors grumbleagain. They fear that they never shall "meet in these seas with a fairwind to return to Spain. " A head-wind heartens them, but it quicklyflits off laden with kisses for Andalusian sweethearts; and again theeast wind fills the sails and carries them away, and away, and away!

54. Alonzo Pinzon and Columbus hold a conference, and Columbus, spreading out that dear map of the Atlantic lying between Europe andAsia, traces for the pilots the course they have pursued--a bold, straight westerly line--and shows them that they are now near theislands of the Asiatic coast. Inspired delusion! How did it happenthat the distance you reckoned to Asia was just the distance thatlanded you on American shores!

55. Then, again, all eyes strain to the west, and the three littleships in that great circle of water steer swiftly on their unknowncourse to unknown lands. The excited sailors can scarce do their work. "We are nearing land, the admiral says. " "He says it will be perhapsCipango itself!" "Think of the gold!" "And the dragons!" "Thou'rt acoward. In Cipango the king has his palace roofed and floored withgold. " "And the pearls there are of a beautiful rose-color. " "If itis not Cipango, it will be still some other famous island, if notCathay. "

56. "But, bethink you of the monsters of those islands: we are like tomeet two-headed men, they say, and lions, and beasts with men'sheads!" "Ay, but the gold, the gold!" "What will gold be to thee, man, with a cannibal drinking thy blood?" "And there is somewhere there avalley of devils!" "Hist about that, there's no need to speak. " "Anyland were better than this dreary, endless ocean!" "Ay, ay, any landwere better than this endless ocean!--I go to look for land. Theadmiral offers a reward to the man first discovering it. " "Ho! for thewest, and the golden cities of Cathay!"

57. Monsters? devils? The admiral was a man of science and not ofsuperstition, but those wild stories may well have made the nightuncanny for him. Suddenly Alonzo Pinzon cried "Land!" and withpraiseworthy prudence hastened to claim the reward. The admiral fellon his knees and thanked God. Alonzo Pinzon's crew sang the "Gloria";the men of the Niña ran up the rigging, and shouted that the land wastruly there. All night the excited men talked of nothing but thatland, and the admiral changed their course to southwest, where itappeared to lie. Fast they sailed till morning, till noon, tillafternoon, and then "discovered that what they had taken for land wasnothing but clouds!" Oh, the fearful reaction after that tensetwenty-four hours! "There is no further shore!" cried the sailors. "Itis as they said: the sea goes on forever, and we are going to death!"The admiral quietly ordered, "Sail on into the west. " They could notgainsay him. He willed it, and they sailed on. 

58. Weeds and birds still float and fly about the ships. "Fine weatherand the sea smooth, many thanks to God, " says the admiral. AlonzoPinzon wished to seek the islands that might be near them. "No, " saidthe admiral, "we shall not change our course. " Put the signs of landagain brought reviving spirits and new hope to the men, and again thethree ships try to outsail one another in the race for the firstdiscovery. The Nina suddenly fired a salute--signal of land--but theland did not appear. Seeing flocks of birds flying southwest, Columbusaltered his course to that direction, thinking that the birds knewbetter than he where land lay. 

59. And three days more they sailed, watching eagerly the varioussigns--weeds, pelicans, passing birds--gazing, gazing, gazing uponthat unbroken boundary line sweeping around the lonesome watery world!Only sky and sea, sea and sky, with lines of passing birds blackacross the one and the undulating weeds streaking the other--threelittle ships with spreading sails under the blue dome, that distant, limiting circle, delicately distinct, always curving in unbrokenperfection. Ah! the calm cruelty of the smiling sea and sky!

60. "The admiral encouraged them in the best manner he could, representing the profits they were about to acquire, and adding thatit was to no purpose to complain; having come so far, they had nothingto do but continue on to the Indies till, with the help of our Lord, they should arrive there. " It is said, though Columbus does notrecord it, that now the sailors whispered about among themselves "thatit would be their best plan to throw him quietly into the sea, and sayhe unfortunately fell in while he stood absorbed in looking at thestars!" If they did plot such folly, they had sense enough not tocarry it out. 

61. So there was, indeed, nothing for it but to sail on. The next daybrought more floating articles and newly excited expectancy. A cane, alog, a carved stick the Pinta found. Think of the way that carvedstick passed from, hand to hand! "Carved with an iron tool, " said one. "Nay, I doubt it. " See, they are waving a branch from the Niña'sdeck! Ho, the Pinta! "A stalk loaded with roseberries!" There must beland--or else the devil himself puts these signs in our way. AlonzoPirzon, in the swift Pinta, kept ahead. Night came down. At ten theadmiral, peer into the darkness, saw a light--was it one of thosephantom lights reported to dance over these waters? A faint, glimmering light! "Pero Gutierrez, come here. I see a light! Look thatway!"--"I see it too, " said Pero. "Rodrigo Sanchez, come here--alight!" But Rodrigo Sanchez does not stand in the right place, andsees nothing at all. It was gone a moment. Then the admiral saw itmoving up and down. "It _may_ be an indication of land, " admittedRodrigo Sanchez; but Columbus was certain, and his orders were promptand imperative: a strict watch to be kept upon the forecastle, and forhim who should first see land a silken jacket and the reward promisedby the king and queen. 

62. At midnight the Pinta was still ahead. Ninety miles they had madesince sunset. Look out for land, Alonzo Pinzon. Midnight--look sharp. No land. One o'clock--look sharp. No land. Two o'clock--what is it?Rodrigo de Triana has seen land, land!_ Make the signals, AlonzoPinzon. Ho, the Santa Maria--_Land!_ Ho, the Niña--_Land!_ Take in thesails, wait now for the dawn--first dawn for Europe in the new world. 

63. In the morning--it was Friday, October 12th, five weeks since theysaw the last of the Canaries--they found that the land was a smallisland with naked people on its shore. Here we are at last! We haveaccomplished it! Think of the exultation! Land with fitting ceremony, and take possession for the king and queen of Spain. Drop the smallboat from the Santa Maria (put in your guns, lest the natives provecannibals). Get in you, and you, and you, of the sailors; get in, Rodrigo de Escovedo, our secretary; you, of course, Rodrigo Sanchez, since the king sent you on purpose to bear witness to this occasion. Alonzo Pinzon and Vincent, carry your standards of the green cross;and the admiral bears the royal standard of our sovereigns. Allaboard--put off the boat--row for the shore. 

64. The curious natives flock about these strange beings, who come inwinged ships, and have bodies covered with something besides skinhandsome natives, evidently no cannibals, and very obliging. No lions, or hippogriffs, or unicorns. But gold--yes, little pieces of ithanging about the savages' necks. They make signs that it comes from aland to the south. Cipango, thought Columbus, and set sail to find it. They were in the group of islands between North and South America, which we call the Bahamas and the West Indies. The first islanddiscovered the natives called Guanahani, but Columbus named it SanSalvador--"Holy Saviour. "

65. They sailed about among them, hunting for gold and Cipango;bartering with the astonished natives; observing the land. Not quiteequal to Mandeville's tales were the sights they saw, yet theluxuriant, tropical vegetation of the islands, the trees with lusciousfruit and sweet perfume, the brilliant birds flitting through thegreen foliage, the marvelous fish flashing in the waters, the lizardsdarting across the paths, were wonderful enough in their new beauty tothe sea-weary eyes of the Europeans. "I saw no cannibals, " saysColumbus; but he heard of an island full of them. He heard, too, ofthe island of the Amazons, fierce, wild women, who use bows andspears, and are less like women than men. And there was an islandwhere the inhabitants had no hair, and one where the people had tails. Mermaids he saw, but, adds the honest admiral, they were "not so likeladies as they are painted. "

66. "Where do you get your gold?" says the admiral by signs to theislanders. "Cubanacan, " say the natives. _Kubla Khan_, flashes acrossthe admiral's mind, and he sails off in renewed certainty. The islandwhich the natives called Colba, or Cuba, he took for Cipango, andafter much searching he came to it at last. When he did reach it, itssize deceived him into thinking he had reached the continent, andmessengers were straightway dispatched to seek the Grand Khan, withhis marble bridges and golden towers. Columbus bad brought along aletter to him from Ferdinand and Isabella, in which they tell himthat, having heard of his love for them, and his wish to hear newsfrom Spain, they now send their admiral to tell him of their healthand prosperity! But the messengers could not find the khan. How couldyou know, Cristoforo Colombo, that you were only half way around thegreat world, and thousands of miles yet from Cathay!

THE REWARD. 

67. America was discovered. The daring admiral never knew it. To theday of his death he thought the world was only half as large as it is, and that he had sailed west to Cathay. 

68. America was discovered. Shout, Palos! Seven months only havepassed, and here come the heroes back again--back from Cipango andCathay. Weep for joy, daughters and sweethearts and wives! Littlechildren, gaze with fear upon those dark-skinned painted savages, andbe consoled that they brought no dragons. Barcelona, ring your bells!The hero, Columbus, is coming in state! Crowd the streets, the doors, the windows, the roofs; king and queen receive him in magnificence. Hail to the man who has _succeeded_!

69. Three times afterward Columbus crossed the ocean to the new-foundIndies, touching once the mainland of South America. No need to gointo the details of his after life. How can one have the heart to tellof the quick subsiding of his triumph, the malicious envy ofcourtiers, the unreasonable discontent of subordinates, the selfishambition of rivals, the wanton wickedness of the West Indian settlers;of his removal from the governorship, and his voyage home in chains, over _his_ Atlantic, of his weakening health, his accumulatinganxieties, his troubled old age? The peaceful death that closed it allin 1506 was relief to the bold spirit which injustice and pain couldnot subdue, but only hamper and fret. From the island of Jamaica, three years before his death, America's discoverer writes to his kingand queen:

70. "For seven years was I at your royal court, where every one towhom the enterprise was mentioned treated it as ridiculous; but nowthere is not a man, down to the very tailors, who does not beg to beallowed to become a discoverer. . . . The lands in this part of theworld which are now under your highnesses' sway are richer and moreextensive than those of any other Christian power; and yet, after thatI had, by the Divine will, placed them under your high and royalsovereignty, and was on the point of bringing your majesties into thereceipt of a very great and unexpected revenue, . . . I was arrestedand thrown, with my two brothers, loaded with irons, into a ship, stripped and very ill treated, without being allowed any appeal tojustice. . . . I was twenty-eight years old when I came into yourhighnesses' service, and now I have not a hair upon me that is notgray; my body is infirm, and all that was left to me, as well as to mybrothers, has been taken away and sold, even to the frock that I wore, to my great dishonor. . . . I implore your highnesses to forgive mycomplaints. I am, indeed, in as ruined a condition as I have related;hitherto I have wept over others-may Heaven now have mercy upon me, and may the earth weep for me. With regard to temporal things, I havenot even a blanca for an offering, and in spiritual things, I haveceased here in the Indies from observing the prescribed forms ofreligion. Solitary in my trouble, sick, and in daily expectation ofdeath, surrounded by millions of hostile savages full of cruelty, andthus separated from the blessed sacraments of our holy church, howwill my soul be forgotten if it be separated from the body in thisforeign land! Weep for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice!"

_Ellen Coit Brown. _

CHAPTER VI. 

_DEFENCE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. _

1. After the destruction of the Roman Empire all Europe was in a stateof anarchy. The long domination of Rome, and the general acceptance ofthe Roman idea that "the state is everything and the individual mannothing, " had unfitted the people for self-government. While Romefell, the system of Rome, leading to absolute monarchy, persisted, andout of it grew the present governments of Europe. The conquering Gothsbrought in a modifying condition which changed the whole relations ofmonarch to people. In their social and political relations chieftainsof tribes or clans divided power with the monarch, and for manycenturies there was continuous warfare between these antagonisticideas. This period is known as the "dark ages, " for while it lastedthere was little visible progress, and an apparent almost entireforgetfulness of the ancient civilizations. 

2. During the dark ages roving bands of freebooters wandered aboutfrom place to place, engaged in robbery, rapine, and murder. To resistthis systematic plunder the people placed themselves under theguardianship of some powerful chieftain in the vicinity, and paid acertain amount of their earnings for the privilege of enjoying theremainder. Hence there grew up, in the Gothic communities of Europe, that peculiar state of society known as "the feudal system. " A greatchieftain or lord lived in a strong castle built for defense againstneighboring lords. A retinue of soldiers was in immediate attendance, who, when not engaged in war, passed their time in hunting anddebauchery. All the expenses and waste of the castle and its occupantswere defrayed by the peasants who cultivated the lands, and who wereall obliged to take up arms whenever their lord's dominions wereinvaded. 

3. In process of time the taxes upon the people became so burdensomethat they were reduced to the condition of serfs, when all theirearnings, except enough to supply the barest necessaries of life, weretaken from them in the shape of taxes and rents. A constantlyincreasing number were yearly taken from the ranks of the industriousto swell the numbers of the soldiery, until Europe seemed one vastcamp. 

4. The feudal system demanded little in the way of industry exceptagriculture and rude home manufactures to furnish food and clothing. Arms were purchased from other lands, the best being obtained from thehigher civilization of the Moslems; but, as population increased, people began to congregate in centers and towns, and cities sprung up. These called for more varied industries, and a class of people soonbecame numerous who had little or no dependence upon the feudal lord. To protect themselves, craftsmen engaged in the same kind of workunited and formed guilds, and the various guilds, though often warringwith each other, united for the common defense. The leaders of theguilds gradually became the heads of notable burgher families whobecame influential and wealthy. As the cities became powerful thefeudal system declined, and in many regions the powerful burghers wereable to maintain their independence, not only against their old lords, but also against the monarch who ruled many lordships. 

5. Between the monarch and the lords there was a naturalantagonism--the monarch endeavoring to gain power, and the lordsendeavoring to retain their privileges. The burghers made use of thesecontending forces; and by sometimes siding with the one and sometimeswith the other, they not only secured their own freedom, but laid thefoundation for the freedom of the people which is now generallyrecognized, and which forms the very corner-stone of our republicaninstitutions. 

6. But the rise of the burgher class, and the evolution of humanliberty through their work, was by no means an easy task. As themilitary spirit was dominant, the calling of an artisan was consideredderogatory, and lords and soldiers looked down upon the industriousclasses as inferior beings. Scott well represents this spirit in thespeech of Rob Roy, the Highland chief, in his reply to the offer ofBailie Jarvie to get his sons employment in a factory: "Make my sonsweavers! I would see every loom in Glasgow, beam, treadle, andshuttles, burnt in hell-fire sooner!" To break the force of the strongmilitary power, and to secure to the industrious classes the rights ofhuman beings, required a continuous warfare which lasted through manycenturies, and which is far from being finished at the present time. But, thanks to the sturdy valor of the burghers of the middle ages, human liberty was maintained and transmitted to succeedinggenerations. 

[Illustration: _Dutch Dikes_]

7. Hitherto in the history of the world mountains had been foundnecessary for the preservation of human liberty. Thermopylæ, Morgarten, Bannockburn, were all fought where precipitous hill-sidesand narrow valleys prevented the champions of freedom from beingoverwhelmed by numbers, and where a single man in defense of his homecould wield more power than ten men in attack. The tyrants who lordedit over plains had learned by dear experience to shun mountains andavoid collisions with mountaineers; and, in case of controversies, they always endeavored to gain by stratagem what they could not obtainby force. Austrian tyranny had dashed itself in vain against the Alps, and English tyranny had turned back southward, thwarted and impotent, from the Scotch Highlands. 

8. But it was to be demonstrated that liberty might have a home inother than mountain fastnesses. Along the North Sea is a stretch ofcountry redeemed from the ocean. Great dikes, faced with granite fromNorway, withstand the tempest from the turbulent ocean, and smallerdikes prevent inundations from rivers. In thousands of square milesthe only land above sea-level is the summit of the dikes. In thepolders or hollow places below the sea, and saved from destructiononly by the dikes, is some of the richest and most productive land inEurope. Here prospered a teeming and industrious population. Agriculture, the parent of national prosperity, flourished as nowhereelse. Manufactures and trade had followed in its train, until thehollow lands had become the beehive of Europe. The direction of themost vast commercial enterprises had been transferred from the lagoonsof Venice to the cities of the dikes. 

9. This country for centuries had constituted a part of the GermanEmpire. At one side of the great lines of communication, and moored sofar out to sea, it had been overlooked and neglected to a certaindegree by the reigning dynasties; and out of this neglect grew itsprosperity. While the rule of the central government was nearlynominal, the feudal lords never obtained a strong foothold in thecountry, and the order and peace of the communities were preserved bymunicipal officers chosen by suffrage. In process of time wealthyburgher families fairly divided political influence with princes, aciddictated a policy at once wise and humane. Extortioners weresuppressed, industries fostered, and peace maintained. 

10. In the religious controversies which followed the preaching ofLuther, the eastern provinces of the hollow land almost exclusivelyespoused the new religion, while the western provinces clung astenaciously to the old. While this difference in religious opinionsgave rise to disputes, and tended toward the disruption of socialrelations, for many years toleration was practiced and peacepreserved. 

11. During the reign of Charles V as emperor of Germany, the lowlandcountries were permitted to go on in their career of prosperity, withthe exception of a religious persecution. Charles was a bigot, and, for a time, he tried to put down heresy with a strong hand; but, finding the new doctrines firmly established in the hearts of thepeople, he relaxed his persecutions, and permitted things to takepretty much their own course. 

12. On the abdication of Charles V, in 1555, Spain and the lowcountries fell to the lot of Philip II. Notwithstanding the richeswhich had poured into Spain from the plunder of Mexico and Peru, theNetherlands were the richest part of Philip's dominions, yielding hima princely revenue. But the free spirit manifested by these artisans, in their homes by the sea, was contrary to all Philip's ideas ofgovernment, and was constantly galling to his personal pride. So hedetermined to reduce his Teutonic subjects to the same degree ofabject submission that he had the residents of the sunny lands ofSpain. To give intensity to his resolve, Philip was a cold-bloodedbigot, and in carrying out his state designs he was also gratifyinghis religious animosities, and giving expression to his almost insanereligious hatreds. His policy was directly calculated to ruin the mostprosperous part of his own dominions--to "kill the goose which laidthe golden egg. "

13. Philip spent the first five years of his reign in the Netherlands, waiting the issue of a war in which he was engaged with France. Duringthis period his Flemish and Dutch subjects began to have someexperience of his government. They observed with alarm that the kinghated the country and distrusted the people. He would speak no otherlanguage than Spanish; his counselors were Spaniards; he keptSpaniards alone about his person, and it was to Spaniards that allvacant posts were assigned. Besides, certain of his measures gavegreat dissatisfaction. He re-enacted the persecuting edicts againstthe Protestants which his father, in the end of his reign, hadsuffered to fall into disuse; and the severities which ensued began todrive hundreds of the most useful citizens out of the country, as wellas to injure trade by deterring Protestant merchants from the Dutchand Flemish ports. Dark hints, too, were thrown out that he intendedto establish an ecclesiastical court in the Netherlands similar to theSpanish Inquisition, and the spirit of Catholics as well asProtestants revolted from the thought that this chamber of horrorsshould ever become one of the institutions of their free land. 

14. He had also increased the number of bishops in the Netherlandsfrom five to seventeen; and this was regarded as the mere appointmentof twelve persons devoted to the Spanish interest, who would help, ifnecessary, to overawe the people. Lastly, he kept the provinces fullof Spanish troops, and this was in direct violation of a fundamentallaw of the country. 

15. Against these measures the nobles and citizens complainedbitterly, and from them drew sad anticipations of the future. Nor werethey more satisfied with the address in which, through the bishop ofArras as his spokesman, he took farewell of them at a convention ofthe states held at Ghent previous to his departure to Spain. Theoration recommended severity against heresy, and only promised thewithdrawal of the foreign troops. The reply of the states was firm andbold, and the recollection of it must have rankled afterward in therevengeful mind of Philip. "I would rather be no king at all, " he saidto one of his ministers at the time, "than have heretics for mysubjects. " But suppressing his resentment in the mean time, be setsail for Spain in August, 1559, leaving his half-sister to act as hisviceroy in the Netherlands. 

16. At this juncture, while the Dutch were threatened by a completesubjugation of their liberties, a champion arose who in the end provedmore than a match for Philip both in diplomatic fields and in militaryoperations. This was William, Prince of Orange, one of the highestnobility, but with his whole heart in sympathy with the people. Inheriting a personality almost perfect in physical, mental, and moralvigor and harmony, he early manifested a prudence and wisdom whichgained for him the entire confidence of the suspicious and experiencedCharles V. 

17. It was on the arm of William of Orange that Charles had leaned forsupport on that memorable day when, in the assembly of the states atBrussels, he rose feebly from his seat, and declared his abdication ofthe sovereign power; and it was said that one of Charles's lastadvices to his son Philip was to cultivate the goodwill of the peopleof the Netherlands, and especially to defer to the counsels of thePrince of Orange. When, therefore, in the year 1555, Philip began hisrule in the Netherlands, there were few persons who were either betterentitled or more truly disposed to act the part of faithful and loyaladvisers than William of Nassau, then twenty-two years of age. 

18. But, close as had been William's relations to the late emperor, there were stronger principles and feelings in his mind than gratitudeto the son of the monarch whom he had loved. He had thought deeply onthe question, how a nation should be governed, and had come toentertain opinions very hostile to arbitrary power; he had observedwhat appeared to him, as a Catholic, gross blunders in the mode oftreating religious differences; he had imbibed deeply the Dutch spiritof independence; and it was the most earnest wish of his heart to seethe Netherlands prosperous and happy. Nor was he at all a visionary, or a man whose activity would be officious and troublesome; he waseminently a practical man, one who had a strong sense of what isexpedient in existing circumstances; and his manner was so grave andquiet that he obtained the name of "William the Silent. " Still, manythings occurred during Philip's four years' residence in theNetherlands to make him speak out and remonstrate. He was one of thosewho tried to get the king to use gentler and more popular measures, and the consequence was that a decided aversion grew up in the darkand haughty mind of Philip to the Prince of Orange. 

19. After the departure of Philip the administration of the Duchess ofParma produced violent discontent. The persecutions of the Protestantswere becoming so fierce that, over and above the suffering inflictedon individuals, the commerce of the country was sensibly falling off. The establishment of a court like the Inquisition was still incontemplation; Spaniards were still appointed to places of trust inpreference to Flemings; and finally, the Spanish soldiers, who oughtto have been removed long ago, were still burdening the country withtheir presence. The woes of the people were becoming intolerable;occasionally there were slight outbreaks of violence; and a low murmurof vehement feeling ran through the whole population, foreboding ageneral eruption. "Our poor fatherland!" they said to each other; "Godhas afflicted as with two enemies, water and Spaniards; we have builtdikes and overcome the one, but how shall we get rid of the other?Why, if nothing better occurs, we know one way at least, and we shallkeep it in reserve--we can set the two enemies against each other. Wecan break down the dikes, inundate the country, and let the water andthe Spaniards fight it out between them. "

20. About this time, too, the decrees of the famous Council of Trent, which had been convened in 1545 to take into consideration the stateof the Church and the means of checking the new religion, and whichhad closed its sittings in the end of 1563, were made public; andPhilip, the most zealous Catholic of his time, issued immediate ordersfor their being enforced both in Spain and in the Netherlands. InSpain the decrees were received as a matter of course, the councilhaving authority over the Catholic people; but the attempt to forcethe mandates of an ecclesiastical body upon a people who neitheracknowledged its authority nor believed in its truth, was justlyregarded as an outrage, and the whole country burst out in a storm ofindignation. In many places the decrees were not executed at all; andwherever the authorities did attempt to execute them, the people roseand compelled them to desist. 

21. A political club or confederacy was organized among the nobilityfor the express purpose of resisting the establishment of theInquisition. They bound themselves by a solemn oath "to oppose theintroduction of the Inquisition, whether it were attempted openly orsecretly, or by whatever name it should be called, " and also toprotect and defend each other from all the consequences which mightresult from their having formed this league. 

22. Perplexed and alarmed, the regent implored the Prince of Orangeand his two associates, Counts Egmont and Horn, to return to thecouncil and give her their advice. They did so; and a speech of thePrince of Orange, in which he asserted strongly the utter folly ofattempting to suppress opinion by force, and argued that "such is thenature of heresy that if it rests it rusts, but whoever rubs it whetsit, " had the effect of inclining the regent to mitigate the ferocityof her former edicts. Meanwhile the confederates were becoming bolderand more numerous. Assembling in great numbers at Brussels, theywalked in procession through the streets to the palace of the regent, where they were admitted to an interview. In reply to their petition, she said she was willing to send one or more persons to Spain to laythe complaint before the king. 

23. While the nobles and influential persons were thus preparing toco-operate, in case of a collision with the Spanish government, asudden and disastrous movement occurred among the lower classes. Itwas stated and believed that the regent had given permission for theexercise of the Protestant form of worship, and throughout Flandersmultitudes poured into the fields after the preachers. The reactionafter the suppression of the previous years was very great, and thepent-up emotions were easily kindled into rage against the Catholics. Led on by fanatics, the ignorant masses made a concerted attack uponthe Catholic churches, shattering their windows, tearing up theirpavements, and destroying all the objects of art which they contained. The cathedral at Antwerp was the special object of attack, and it wasreduced to an almost hopeless ruin. The patriot nobles exerted theirinfluence, and at last succeeded in suppressing the violence and inrestoring order. 

24. Before the news of this outburst had reached Spain, Philip hadresolved to crush the confederacy and break the proud spirit of theNetherlands. Secret orders; were given for the collection of troops;the regent was instructed to amuse the patriots until the means ofpunishing them were ready; and in a short time it was hoped that therewould no longer be a patriot or a heretic in the Low Countries. It iseasy to conceive with what rage and bitterness of heart Philip, whileindulging these dreams, must have received intelligence of theterrible doings of the iconoclasts. But, as cautious and dissimulatingas he was obstinate and revengeful, he concealed his intentions in themean time, announced them to the regent only in secret letters anddispatches, and held out hopes in public to the patriots and people ofthe Netherlands that he was soon to pay them a visit in person toinquire into the condition of affairs. 

25. William had secret intelligence of the purpose of Philip in timeto avert its worst consequences. The man whom Philip sent into theNetherlands at the head of the army, as a fit instrument of hispurpose of vengeance, was the Duke of Alva, a personage who united themost consummate military skill with the disposition of a ruffian, ready to undertake any enterprise however base. Such was the man who, at the age of sixty, in the month of August, 1567, made his entry intothe Netherlands at the head of an army of fifteen thousand men. One ofhis first acts was the arrest of the Counts Egmont and Horn. Theregent resigned, and Alva was left in supreme control. Now ensued thegrand struggle in the Netherlands. On the one hand was a nation ofquiet, orderly people, industrious in a high degree, prosperous intheir commerce, and disposed to remain peaceful subjects to a foreignmonarch; on the other hand was a sovereign who, unthankful for theblessing of reigning over such a happy and well-disposed nation, andstimulated by passion and bigotry, resolved on compelling all tosubmit to his will on penalty of death. 

26. Alva at once commenced his persecutions. Supported by his army, blood was shed like water. The Inquisition was established, and beganits work of unspeakable horrors in the Netherlands. Patriots andProtestants in crowds left the country. The leading men of theNetherlands were arrested and executed. Under circumstances of extremeferocity Counts Egmont and Horn were beheaded at Brussels. Overwhelming taxes were imposed upon the people, and during the shortperiod of his administration Alva executed eighteen thousand patriots, including many Catholics; for, in his rage against the free spirit ofthe Netherlanders, he recognized no distinction in condition or inreligious belief. 

27. In the mean time the Prince of Orange was active in devising meansto liberate his unfortunate country from the terrible scourge to whichit was subjected. For five years he battled incessantly against theSpanish power. Now he entered into combination with the English andnow with the French, with the vain hope of obtaining a sufficientforce to drive the Spaniards out of the country. Twice he raised anarmy and marched to the aid of the brave burghers, who stillmaintained their independence, and both times was defeated by thesuperior force and generalship of Alva. He organized a fleet whichravaged the coast, captured vessels laden with provisions for Alva'sarmy, and defended the ports within reach of their guns, When theshattered remains of William's last army retreated across the Germanfrontier, it seemed that the people of the Netherlands were about tobe left to their fate. 

28. But sixty cities and towns were now in revolt, and, unless theywere recovered, Philip could no longer be considered the king of theNetherlands. Nothing was left but the slow process of siegeoperations. Haarlem held out seven months, and cost the Spaniards tenthousand men. It surrendered at last under the promise of an amnestyto its defenders, when they were murdered by thousands in cold blood. But Philip was dissatisfied with Alva for his slow progress, and forhis execution of Catholics as well as Protestants; and in 1753, afterfive years' rule, he recalled him, and, with characteristicingratitude, neglected and ill-treated him for his faithful but bloodyservices. 

29. Don Luis Requesens succeeded the Duke of Alva as governor of theNetherlands and as commander of the Spanish army. While a zealousCatholic, he seems to have been a much more humane and just man thanAlva. He began his administration by abolishing the most obnoxiousmeasures of his predecessor, thus changing the whole tone of thegovernment. Had he been left to follow his own counsels in everything, he doubtless would have come to an understanding with the Prince ofOrange, and established peace upon a permanent basis. But the king wasobstinately determined to capture the revolted cities and punish hisrebel subjects, and the general was obliged to continue the war. Atthis time William was besieging Middleburg, on the island of Zealand, and one of the first acts of the newly-appointed, governor was toraise the siege. To this end he caused a large fleet to be assembled, and under the command of two experienced admirals he sent it down theScheldt to the relief of Middleburg. The Prince of Orange immediatelyhastened to the critical spot, and gave direction to patriotoperations. The Holland ships were collected, and a great naval battletook place on January 29, 1574. Although their force was much thegreater, the Spaniards had little chance upon the water in a contestwith the half-amphibious inhabitants of the Low Countries. The smallervessels of the Prince of Orange fell upon the Spanish fleet with aferocity which they could not withstand, and the result was a completevictory, with the destruction of their principal vessels. Middleburgsoon after surrendered to the patriots, and the sway of William overthe maritime provinces was rendered complete. 

30. In April an army from Germany, raised through the influence of thePrince of Orange, and commanded by his brother, Count Henry of Nassau, marched into the Low Countries; but the Spaniards dominated the landas the Dutch the sea, and the relief array was defeated and CountHenry was killed. This defeat, however, to the patriot cause, wasalmost equal to a victory. The Spanish troops, who had long beenwithout pay, became mutinous and unmanageable, and before they couldbe appeased much precious time was lost. The Prince of Orange made thebest use of this time. The revolted cities were strengthened andsupplied with provisions, and every preparation made for bothdefensive and offensive war. But, best of all, the Dutch admiralboldly sailed up the Scheldt, captured forty of the Spanish vessels, and sunk many more. 

31. At length the Spanish general was once more ready to continue hisaggressive movements, and he proceeded to lay siege to the populouscity of Leyden. The story of this siege is one of the mostspirit-stirring in the annals of heroism. Leyden stands in a lowsituation, in the midst of a labyrinth of rivulets and canals. Thatbranch of the Rhine which still retains the name of its upper coursepasses through the middle of it, and front this stream such aninfinity of canals are derived that it is difficult to say whether thewater or the land possesses, the greater space. By these canals theground on which the city stands is divided into a great number ofsmall islands, united together by bridges. 

32. For five months all other operations were suspended; all theenergy of Requesens, on the one hand, was directed toward gettingpossession of the city, and all the energy of the Prince of Orange, onthe other hand, toward assisting the citizens, and preventing it frombeing taken. The issue depended entirely, however, on the bravery andresolution of the citizens of Leyden themselves. Pent up within theirwalls, they had to resist the attacks and stratagems of the besiegers;and all that the Prince of Orange could do was to occupy thesurrounding country, harass the besiegers as much as possible, andenable the citizens to hold out, by conveying to them supplies ofprovisions and men. 

33. There was not in the city a single scion of a noble family. Therewere no men trained to military operations. It was a city of artisansand tradesmen, and the Spaniards expected scarcely more than a show ofresistance from a foe so ignoble. As well might the sheep resist apack of ravening wolves as the men of the counting-house and workshopresist the best trained soldiers of Europe. But nobly, nay, up to thehighest heroic pitch of human nature, did the citizens behave! Theyhad to endure a siege in its most dreary form--that of a blockade. Instead of attempting to storm the town, Valdez, the Spanish general, resolved to reduce it by the slow process of starvation. For thispurpose he completely surrounded the town by a circle of forts morethan sixty in number; and the inhabitants thus saw themselves walledcompletely in from the rest of the earth, with its growing crops andits well-filled granaries, and restricted entirely to whateverquantity of provisions there happened to be on the small spot ofground on which they walked up and down. Their only means ofcommunication with the Prince of Orange was by carrier-pigeons trainedfor the purpose. 

34. One attempt was made by them to break through the line ofblockade, for the sake of keeping possession of a piece ofpasture-ground for their cattle; but it was unsuccessful; and theybegan now to work day and night in repairing their fortifications, soas to resist the Spanish batteries when they should begin to play. Like fire pent up, the patriotism of the inhabitants burned morefiercely and brightly; every man became a hero, every woman an orator, and words of flashing genius were spoken and deeds of wild braverydone, such as would have been impossible except among twenty thousandhuman beings living in the same city, and all roused at once to thesame unnatural pitch of emotion. 

35. The two leading spirits were John van der Dors, the commander, better known by his Latinized name of Dousa; and Peter van der Werf, the burgomaster. Plebeian names these, but loftier natures neverpossessed the hearts of kings or nobles! Beside their deeds, thechivalry of knighthood looks trivial and mean. Under the management ofthese two men every precaution was adopted for the defense of thecity. The resolution come to was, that the last man among them shoulddie of want rather than admit the Spaniards into the town. Coolly, andwith a foresight thoroughly Dutch, Dousa and Van der Werf set aboutmaking an inventory of all that was eatable in the town: corn, cattle--nay, even horses and dogs; calculating how long the stockcould last at the rate of so much a day to every man and woman in thecity; adopting means to get the whole placed under the management of adispensing committee; and deciding what should be the allowance perhead at first, so as to prevent their stock from being eaten up toofast. 

36. It was impossible, however, to collect all the food into one fund, or to regulate its consumption by municipal arrangements; and, aftertwo months had elapsed, famine bad commenced in earnest, and thosedevices for mitigating the gnawings of hunger began to be employedwhich none but starving men would think of. Not only the flesh of dogsand horses, but roots, weeds, nettles--everything green that the eyecould detect shooting up from the earth--was ravenously eaten. Manydied of want, and thousands fell ill. Still they held out, andindignantly rejected the offers made to them by the besiegers. 

37. "When we have nothing else, " said Dousa, in reply to a messagefrom Valdez, "we will eat our left hands, keeping the right to fightwith. " Once, indeed, hunger seemed to overcome patriotism, and forsome days crowds of gaunt and famished wretches moved along thestreets, crying: "Let the Spaniards in; for God's sake let them in!"Assembling with hoarse clamor at the house of Van der Werf, theydemanded that he should give them food or surrender. "I have no foodto give you, " was the burgomaster's reply, "and I have sworn that Iwill not surrender to the Spaniards; but, if my body will be of anyservice to you, tear me in pieces, and let the hungriest of you eatme. " The poor wretches went away, and thought no more ofsurrendering. 

38. The thought of the Prince of Orange night and day was how torender assistance to the citizens of Leyden--how to convey provisionsinto the town. He had collected a large supply, but, with all hisexertions, could not raise a sufficient force to break through theblockade. In this desperate extremity the Dutch resolved to haverecourse to that expedient which they had kept in reserve until itshould be clear that no other was left--they would break their dikes, open their sluices, inundate the whole level country around Leyden, and wash the Spaniards and their forts utterly away!

39. It was truly a desperate measure, and it was only in the lastextremity that they could bring themselves to think of it. All thatfertile land, which the labor of ages had drained and cultivated--tosee it converted into a sheet of water! There could not possibly be asight more unseemly and melancholy to a Dutchman's eyes. But, when themeasure was once resolved upon, they set to work with a heartiness andzeal greater than that which had attended their building. Hatchets, hammers, spades, and pickaxes were in requisition; and by the labor ofa single night the work of ages was demolished and undone. The water, availing itself of the new inlets, poured over the flat country, andin a short time the whole of the region between Leyden and Rotterdamwas flooded. 

40. The Spaniards, terror-stricken, at first resolved upon immediateflight; but, seeing that the water did not rise above a certain level, they recovered their courage, and, though obliged to abandon theirforts, which were stationed upon the low grounds, they persevered inthe blockade. But there was another purpose to be served by theinundation of the country beside that of washing away the Spaniards, and the Prince of Orange made preparations for effecting it. He hadcaused two hundred flat-bottomed boats to be built, and loaded withprovisions; these now began to row toward the famished city. Theinhabitants saw them coming; they watched them eagerly advancingacross the waters, fighting their way past the Spanish forts, andbringing bread to them. But it seemed as if Heaven itself had becomecruel; for a north wind was blowing, and, so long as it continued toblow, the waters would not be deep enough for the boats to reach thecity. They waited for days, every eye fixed on the vanes; but stillthe wind continued in the north, though never within the memory of theoldest citizen had it blown in that direction so long at that time ofyear. Many died in sight of the vessels that contained the food whichwould have kept them alive; and those who survived shuffled along thestreets, living skeletons instead of men!

41. But the sea did not at last desert the brave men who had so longdominated it. At the last extremity it roused itself and swept down inits might upon the doomed Spaniards. When but two days stood betweenthe starving citizens and death, lo! the vanes trembled and veeredround; the wind shifted first to the northwest, blowing the sea-tideswith hurricane force into the mouth of the rivers, and then to thesouth, driving the waters directly toward the city. The remainingforts of the Spaniards were quickly begirt with water. The Spaniardsthemselves, pursued by the Zealanders in their boats, were eitherdrowned or shot swimming, or fished out with hooks fastened to the endof poles, and killed with the sword. Several bodies of them, however, effected their escape. The citizens had all crowded at the gates tomeet their deliverers. With bread in their hands they ran through thestreets; and many who had outlived the famine died of surfeit. Thesame day they met in one of the churches--a lean and sicklycongregation--with the magistrates at their head, to return thanks toAlmighty God for his mercy. 

42. The citizens of Leyden had performed their duty nobly and well. Itwas a triple service--they had driven away from their city the hatedSpaniard; they had secured the freedom of their country; and they hadpreserved liberty for mankind. No nobler deeds are chronicled in allhistory than this long battle with death, than this silent, uncomplaining endurance during the long weeks, while the life-givingsuccors were delayed by adverse winds. As a recompense to the peopleof Leyden for their heroic conduct, the Prince of Orange gave them thechoice of exemption from taxes for a certain number of years, or ofhaving a university established in the city; and, much to their honor, they preferred the latter. The University of Leyden was accordinglyestablished in 1575. At one time it attained so high a reputation forlearning that Leyden was styled the Athens of the West. 

CHAPTER VII. 

_THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA_

1. In 1588 the "Invincible Armada" sailed from Spain into the highseas. To understand the nature of this formidable naval armament andthe reasons for its sailing, we must take a brief survey of thecondition of Europe at this period of the world's history. 

SPAIN BEFORE THE ARMADA

2. At this time Spain was the most powerful of the monarchies ofEurope. Many causes had conspired to give her this pre-eminence. Aboutone hundred years before, the two principal provinces, Castile andAragon, were united by the marriage of their sovereigns, Isabella andFerdinand. In 1492 the Aloors were subjugated, uniting the wholepeninsula under one government. In the same year, under the auspicesof the Spanish sovereigns, Columbus discovered the New World, givingadditional luster to the Spanish name and a new impulse to Spanishadventure. 

3. Thirty years later, Mexico and Peru had been overrun and plunderedby Cortes and Pizarro, and the treasures of millions of people, accumulated through many centuries, became a possession of the Spanishpeople; raising them to a degree of opulence unknown since the time ofthe most illustrious of the Roman emperors. In consequence of thiswealth, commerce expanded, large cities grew up along the courses ofthe navigable rivers, and all branches of industry were aroused to astate of great activity. 

4. In 1516 Spain and Austria were united under the Emperor Charles V, grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella; and, during his reign, the unitedkingdoms arose to a height of power almost equal to that of the empireof Charlemagne. The dominion of Charles extended from the Atlantic tothe steppes of Poland, and from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. Itincluded all of Western Continental Europe, except France and SouthernItaly. In 1556 Charles abdicated his throne, and divided his empire, giving Austria and Germany to his brother Ferdinand, and Spain and theLow Countries of Holland and Belgium to his son Philip II. 

5. Spain was now rich and powerful. Her armies were large, and werecommanded by the most experienced military officers of Europe. Material progress showed itself on every side. The richest commerce ofthe world poured its wealth into her ports. A new intellectual lifewas aroused, which found expression in literature and schools. All theconditions seemed to indicate that the Spanish people were about tolead Europe in the direction of a higher civilization. 

CHARACTER AND POLICY OF PHILIP II

6. But soon all this changed. Philip was vain, bigoted, and ambitious. In his administration of public affairs he seemed to have but twoobjects in view, to augment Spanish power, and to cause his ownreligious creed to be universally accepted. To promote these objectshe had no scruples in regard to means. His own people were torturedand executed by the thousand. By this savage policy he stamped outheresy, placed freedom of thought under a ban, and put an end to theintellectual progress of the country. In his dealings with othernations his diplomacy included all the arts of chicanery and deceit. 

7. Two formidable obstacles stood in the way of the realization of hisplans. Heretical England had become a strong naval power, and Englishships captured his treasure-vessels laden with the spoils of thecountries lie had plundered. The eagles of the sea despoiled thewolves of the main of their ill-got gains. The second trouble wasnearer home. The people of the Low Countries revolted alike from hisgovernment and his creed. To remove these obstacles was the first steptoward the attainment of his larger ambitions. 

8. In regard to England, Philip ventured upon a master-stroke ofpolicy. He sought the hand of Mary, the newly crowned Queen ofEngland, and married her. By this step lie hoped and expected toextinguish dissent in England as he had done in his own dominions, togradually usurp the government, and to make English naval supremacysubserve the interests of Spain. 

9. But Philip was sorely disappointed. Mary, though narrow andbigoted, and at one with hire in creed, had still English blood inher; and English independence had been sturdily maintained through toomany centuries to be surrendered to any power or on any pretext. TheEnglish Parliament also interfered and refused to crown him jointlywith Mary. So Philip found himself united to a sickly, peevish wife oftwice his age, and entirely powerless to effect the purposes he had inview. 

10. Three or four years passed in fruitless intrigue. Punishments forheresy were frequent, but the fires of persecution never blazed sofiercely in the cooler atmosphere of England as in Spain, and thevictims of the stake could be counted singly instead of by thethousand. Then Mary died, and Elizabeth ascended the throne ofEngland. The new queen declined the honor of Philip's hand which wastendered her, and she zealously espoused the cause of the Englishchurch. The hunted turned hunters, and the last fires of Englishpersecution were lit by those whom the stake had threatened allthrough the dreary years of Mary's reign. This change of front and thegradual amelioration of penalties which followed show thatpersecutions are not the monopoly of any sect, but are rather themanifestations of an irresponsible power in a semi-barbarous age. 

11. Philip retired angry and disgusted. The contemptuous refusal ofhis hand by Elizabeth was a terrible shock to his personal pride; thetriumph of the new church inflamed his bigotry; and the sturdyindependence of the English people was a severe blow to his pride ofcountry. He brooded over the situation and determined to resent theslights--personal and public--which had been put upon him. 

12. From his purpose he was for a time diverted by the attitude of hisrebellious subjects in Belgium. Maddened to ferocity by the failure ofhis plans, he devoted the whole people to destruction, and he sent hisbest-equipped armies, under the terrible Duke of Alva, to devastatethe cities of the dikes as Pizarro had destroyed the homes of theIncas. After innumerable atrocities, and the wholesale slaughter ofmen, women, and children, the remnant of freedom was preserved by theobstinacy of the Dutch burghers, the wise policy of William theSilent, the aid of the sea, and the succor furnished by Elizabeth. 

[Illustration: _The Spanish Armada_]

13. Here, again, was practical defeat. His cherished purposes werethwarted, and the high hope of his life was gone. Nothing was left butdespair and revenge. At this time Philip began to exhibit in a markeddegree the madness which overshadowed the last years of his life. Hishatred of England grew from day to day, and at last took shape in adetermination to make one supreme effort to conquer his rival, and tocheck the rising free thought of the English people. For years thepreparations went, on for the great conflict, and in 1588, twentyyears after the accession of Elizabeth to the throne, everything wasready. 

ENGLAND'S POWER TO RESIST THE ARMADA. 

14. And what of England and of her ability to resist this formidableattack? For a hundred years before the beginning of the sixteenthcentury, the civil wars of the Roses had desolated the country and putan end to national growth. For the next fifty years, and until thecommencement of the reign of Elizabeth, violence and bloodshed were socommon that the population barely maintained its own. In 1588 thewhole number of people in England and Wales was estimated at fourmillions, about one third of the population of Spain. 

15. But England possessed two elements of strength--her people, although differing in creed and often warring with one another, were intensely patriotic, and were united as one man against aforeign foe; and the ships of England, manned by English crewsand commanded by her great captains--the legitimate successorsof the old Vikings--dominated the seas. No enterprise was toohazardous for these hardy mariners to undertake, and no disparityof force ever induced them to pause. Philip was often wrought tofrenzy as he saw these bold corsairs capture his treasure-shipsand ravage his coasts in sight of his invincible but impotentarmies. 

16. The mode of attack which Philip determined upon consisted of twodistinct but co-operative movements. A formidable army of invasion, under the Duke of Parma, the most experienced and skillful commanderin Europe, was stationed at the several ports of the Low Countries, opposite the British coast, from Dunkirk east. Innumerable transportswere provided to convey this host across the Channel, and, once onEnglish ground, an easy and triumphant march to London was expected. The second part of the grand expedition consisted of an immense fleetof the largest vessels ever built, under the command of the Duke ofMedina Sidonia, which was to drive away the English ships and convoythe army of Parma to the English shore. This fleet was christened bythe Spaniards "The Invincible Armada. "

17. "Philip hastened his preparations with all the energy he couldcommand. In every port resounded the axe and hammer of theship-builder; in every arsenal blazed the flames of busy forges. AllSpanish Europe echoed with the din of arms. Provisions were amassed ina thousand granaries; soldiers were daily mustered on theparade-grounds, drilled, and accustomed to the use of arquebus andcannon. Carts and wagons were built in hundreds for the conveyance ofstores; spades, mattocks; and baskets were got ready for the pioneers;iron and brass ordnance were cast, and leaden shot melted in enormousquantities; nor were the instruments of torture--the thumb-screw andthe 'jailer's daughter'--forgotten. "

18. In 1587 the preparations were nearly completed, and the Armada wasabout ready to sail, when a knowledge of its destination became knownto Sir Francis Drake, the great English commander. Without consideringthe disparity of force, the old sea-king, with a fleet ofswift-sailing vessels, made a sudden descent upon the port of Cadiz, where the ships of the Armada were at anchor. Many of the largervessels escaped by taking refuge under the guns of the forts, but thecity was lit up by the blaze of one hundred and fifty burning ships, and the great enterprise was delayed for another year. 

SAILING OF THE ARMADA. 

19. But this disaster only called forth greater exertions. The maimedvessels were repaired, new ones were built, and at length one hundredand thirty-two ships, many of them the largest ever known at the time, were ready to sail. They carried three thousand guns and thirtythousand men. On May 3d the Armada sailed from the mouth of the Tagus, but a great gale dispersed the ships, and obliged them to put backinto port to repair. Surely God did not smile upon the beginning of awarfare carried on in his name! It was not until July 12th that thefleet finally sailed from Corunna on its mission of destruction, andto meet its fate. 

20. To cope with this formidable force, the whole British navy couldmuster only thirty-six vessels, all much smaller than the largest ofthe Spanish ships. But, in consideration of the great danger, merchants and private gentlemen fitted out vessels at their ownexpense, and by midsummer a fleet of one hundred and ninety-sevenships was placed at the disposal of the British admiral. In tonnage, number of guns, and number of men, the strength of the whole fleet wasabout one half that of the Armada. 

21. But all England was aroused. For more than five centuries this wasthe first foreign invasion that had threatened her shores. The yearsof preparation had given time for the avowed purposes of Philip tobecome known throughout the kingdom. There was anxiety everywhere, forno one knew where and when the blow was to be struck; but there was nothought of submission, and all England stood alert, eagerly watchingand waiting. Much to Philip's disappointment and chagrin, the greatCatholic families of England rallied to their country's defense asreadily as their Protestant neighbors, and all Englishmen stoodshoulder to shoulder in this supreme moment of the nation's peril. Vessels patrolled the shores, to give notice of the coming ships;soldiers drilled in every hamlet; and on the hill-tops piles of fagotswere placed so that signal-fires might speedily send the news to theremotest parts of the kingdom. 

WAITING FOR THE ARMADA. 

22. Canon Kingsley has given a graphic picture of England's greatnaval commanders, when the news was received that the Armada was offthe coast. He supposes them assembled at Plymouth on the 19th of July, engaged in the then favorite game of bowls. 

23. "Those soft, long eyes and pointed chin you recognize already. They are Sir Walter Raleigh's. The fair young man in the flame-coloredsuit at his side is Lord Sheffield; opposite them stand LordSheffield's uncle, Sir Richard Grenville, and the stately Lord CharlesHoward of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England next to him is hisson-in-law, Sir Robert Southwell, captain in her Majesty's service. 

24. "But who is that short, sturdy, plainly dressed man, who standswith legs a little apart, and hands behind his back, looking up withkeen gray eyes into the face of each speaker? His cap is in his hand, so you can see the bullet-head of crisp brown hair and the wrinkledforehead as well as the high cheek-bones, the short square face, thebroad temples, the thick lips, which are yet as firm as granite. Acoarse, plebeian stump of a man; yet the whole figure and attitude arethose of boundless determination, self-possession, energy; and, whenat last he speaks a few blunt words, all eyes are turned respectfullyon him, for his name is Francis Drake. 

25. "A burly, grizzled elder, in greasy, sea-stained garments, contrasting oddly with the huge gold chain about his neck, waddles up, as if he had been born, and had lived ever since, in a gale of wind atsea. The upper half of his sharp, dogged visage seems of a brick-redleather, the brow of badger's fur, and, as he claps Drake on the back, with a broad Devon accent he shouts, 'Be you a-coming to drink yourwine, Francis Drake, or be you not? saving your presence my lord. 'The lord high admiral only laughs, and bids Drake go and drink hiswine, for John Hawkins, admiral of the fleet, is the patriarch ofPlymouth seamen, if Drake is the hero. 

26. "So they push through the crowd, wherein is many another man whomwe would gladly have spoken with face to face on earth. MartinFrobisher and John Davis are sitting on that bench, smoking tobaccofrom long silver pipes; and by them are Fenton and Wishington, whohave both tried to follow Drake's path around the world, and failed, though by no fault of their own. The short, prim man, in the hugeyellow ruff, is Richard Hawkins, the admiral's hereafter famous son. 

27. "But hark! the boom of a single gun seaward directs the attentionof every one to a small armed vessel staggering up the sound under apress of canvas. A boat puts off; its oars flash quickly in the sun;the captain lands, and, inquiring for the lord high admiral, isquickly brought into his presence. He has discovered the formidablearray of the Spaniards bearing down with the wind like so manyfloating castles, the ocean seeming to groan under the weight of theirheavy burdens. The lord high admiral proposes to hold counsel with hisprincipal officers; but, says Drake, with a hearty laugh: 'Let us playout our play; there will be plenty of time to win the game and beatthe Spaniards, too. '

28. "The game was played out steadily, and, the last cast having beenthrown, Drake and his comrades leaped into their boats and rowedswiftly to their respective ships. With so much skill did Howard andhis lieutenants direct the movements of their squadrons that, beforemorning, sixty of the best English ships had warped out of PlymouthHarbor. "

HOW THE NEWS SPREAD THROUGH ENGLAND

29. While preparations had been made to meet the Armada, there seemsto have been a half expectation on the part of the government thatsomething would occur to prevent its sailing. Until the very last, Elizabeth and her counselors appeared to place more confidence indiplomacy and political combinations than in the powers of Sir FrancisDrake and his coadjutors. So, when the Armada was seen off the coast, the signal-fires were kindled, and the whole kingdom was soon ablaze. The stirring verse of Macaulay best describes the spread of the news, the alarm, the anxiety, and the grand uprising of the whole people. 

 30. Attend, all ye who list to bear Our noble England's praise; I tell of the thrice-famous deeds She wrought in ancient days, When that great fleet invincible Against her bore in vain The richest spoils of Mexico, The stoutest hearts of Spain. 

 31. It was about the lovely close Of a warm summer day, There carne a gallant merchant-ship Full sail to Plymouth Bay; Her crew hath seen Castile's black fleet, Beyond Aurigny's isle, At earliest twilight, on the waves, Lie heaving many a mile. 

 32. At sunrise she escaped their van, By God's especial grace; And the tall Pinta, till the noon, Had held her close in chase. 

 33. Forthwith a guard at every gun Was placed along the wall; The beacon blazed upon the roof Of Edgecumbe's lofty hall; Many a light fishing-bark put out To ply along the coast, And with loose rein and bloody spur Rode inland many a post. 

 34. With his white hair unbonneted, The stout old sheriff comes; Before him march the halberdiers; Behind him sound the drums; His yeomen round the market cross Make clear an ample space; For there behooves him to set up The standard of her Grace. 

 43. At once on all her stately gates Arose the answering fires; At once the wild alarum clashed From all her reeling spires; From all the batteries of the Tower Pealed loud the voice of fear; And all the thousand masts of Thames Sent back a louder cheer

 44. And from the farthest wards was heard The rush of hurrying feet, And the broad streams of pikes and flags Rushed down each roaring street; And broader still became the blaze, And louder still the din, As fast from every village round The horse came spurring in:

 45. And eastward straight from wild Blackheath The warlike errand went, And roused in many an ancient hall The gallant squires of Kent. Southward from Surrey's pleasant hills Flew those bright couriers forth; High on bleak Hampstead's swarthy moor They started for the north;

 46. And on, and on, without a pause Untired they bounded still; All night from tower to tower they sprang: They sprang from hill to hill: Till the proud peak unfurled the flag O'er Darwin's rocky dales, Till like volcanoes flared to heaven The stormy hills of Wales;

 47. Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze On Malvern's lonely height, Till streamed in crimson on the wind The Wrekin's crest of light, Till broad and fierce the star came forth On Ely's stately fame, And tower and hamlet rose in arms O'er all the boundless plain;

 48. Till Belvoir's lordly terraces The sign to Lincoln sent, And Lincoln sped the message on O'er the wide vale of Trent; Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burned On Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused The burghers of Carlisle. 

THE PRELIMINARY SKIRMISH. 

49. It was on Saturday, July 20th, a dull, misty day, that the twogreat fleets, which represented the cause of freedom on the one sideand the longing after universal empire on the other, came in sight ofeach other. The great Armada, with its huge galleons in battle arrayextending over a space of many miles, was suffered to sail up theChannel, past Plymouth Harbor, without molestation. This was inaccordance with the general plan of attack which bad been agreed upon. 

50. The superior force of the Spaniards caused no fear, but rather agrim determination to overwhelm and destroy. The universal sentimentthat seemed to prevail among all classes of Englishmen concerningtheir country finds fitting expression in the words which Shakespeareputs into the mouth of John of Gaunt:

 "This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise; This fortress, built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war; This happy breed of men, this little world; This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands; This blessed spot, this earth, this realm, this England, Dear for her reputation through the world. "

51. To guard this favored spot, and to protect its soil from thepolluting footstep of the hated Spaniard, mariners went forth to do ordie. It was now, in the moment of supreme peril, that the courage, hardihood, and skill of England's great navigators gained in battlewith the elements in the unknown seas of the North and West, and inmany a strife against fearful odds with their Spanish foes, were foundto be equal to the occasion and sufficient to insure the safety oftheir country. 

52. On Sunday morning, July 21st, the English ships commenced theirattacks upon their unwieldy antagonists. "The Spanish ships, " saysMotley, "seemed arrayed for a pageant in honor of a victory won. Arranged in the form of a crescent whose horns were seven milesasunder, those gilded towers and floating castles, with theirbrilliant standards and martial music, bore slowly up the Channel. Theadmiral, the 'Golden Duke, ' stood in his private shot-proof tower, onthe deck of his great galleon, the Saint Martin, surrounded by guardsof infantry and captains of cavalry, no better acquainted than himselfwith naval tactics. 

53. "And just as the gaddy hovers about and stings the horse, which isall unable to escape from its tiny enemy; so round the heavy galleonsand unwieldy ships of Spain the light English vessels, commanded byable and experienced seamen, hovered with the utmost freedom. Theirsuperior tactics soon obtained the advantage of the wind, enablingthem at intervals to cannonade their enemies with great effect, whilethey themselves escaped out of range at pleasure, and easily avoidedthe tremendous discharge of the Spanish ordnance. 

54. "In vain the Golden Duke attempted to bring on a generalengagement. Howard and Drake were well aware that in a ship-to-shipfight the strongest would necessarily conquer, and that their onlyhope of success lay in keeping close upon the enemy's flanks, orfollowing at his heels, cutting off a stray galleon, making a dashinto his ill-managed squadrons, and so gradually but surely reducinghis strength, until they could venture to give him battle on moreequal terms. "

55. "The Armada, " Mr. Fronde says, "made sail and attempted to close. To Medina Sidonia's extreme astonishment, it seemed at the pleasure ofthe English to leave him or allow him to approach them as they chose. The high-towered, broad-bowed galleons moved like Thames barges piledwith hay, while the sharp, low English ships sailed at near two feetto the Spaniards' one and shot away, as if by magic, in the eye of thewind. It was as if a modern steam fleet was engaged with a squadron ofthe old-fashioned sailing vessels, choosing their own distance, andfighting or not fighting, as suited their convenience. 

56. "Astonished and confounded, as well by the manoeuvring as by therapidity of the English fire, the Spanish officers could not refusetheir admiration. They knew they were inferior at sea, but had notfully realized their inferiority, notwithstanding the lessons Drake, Hawkins, Cavendish, and others had already taught them. But here werethe English firing four shots to their one, while their ships were sonimble that, with a fresh breeze, even the swiftest of the Spanishships could not touch there. Such splendid gunners and skillful seamenthe Spaniards had never seen before, and were hardly able to believein their existence. "

57. The wind was from the west, so that the English fleet were able tokeep to the windward, giving them an increased advantage over theirantagonists. The Spanish gunners, drafted from the army, could notmanage the naval ordnance, and their shots flew high and scarcelytouched the English ships. On the other hand, the Spanish vessels wereriddled with shot, and men fell killed and wounded on every side. Butthe ships were too strongly built to be easily destroyed, and so themonsters continued to receive fearful blows, and sailed wearily andhelplessly on. Toward night, Medina Sidonia, finding it impossible tobring on a general engagement, signaled to make sail up the Channel, the rear to be covered by the squadron under his second in command, Don Martinez de Recaldi. 

58. "The wind was now rising and promised a squally evening. TheEnglish ships withdrew for want of powder. An express was sent up toLondon for a fresh supply. A fast boat was dispatched to Lord HarrySeymour, who commanded a fleet of coasters farther up the Channel, with a letter reporting progress so far, and bidding him be on thealert. But the misfortunes of the Spaniards were not yet over. TheCapitana, one of their largest galleons, fouled with another vesseland broke her bow-sprit. She fell behind, and was left to her fate. In the morning Drake took possession of her, and found many casks ofreals, and, what was of more importance, some tons of gunpowder, withwhich the Roebuck, the swiftest traveler of the fleet, flew to thelord admiral. 

59. "Shortly after dark another serious accident occurred. Theofficers of one of the great galleons, impatient and irritated at theresults of the action, were quarreling with one another. The captainstruck the master-gunner with a stick. The gunner, who was fromHolland, went below in a rage, thrust a burning linstock, or longmatch, into a powder-barrel, and sprang through a port-hole into thesea. The deck was blown off from stem to stern. Two hundred seamen andsoldiers were sent into the air: some fell into the water and weredrowned; some, scorched or mutilated, dropped back into the wreck. Theship, which was one of the largest in the fleet, was built so stronglythat she survived the shock, and at day-light the English tookpossession of her. At the bottom of the hold were many barrels ofpowder, which Lord Howard so sorely needed. "

THE PROGRESS OF THE FIGHT. 

60. On the morning of July 22d the Spanish admiral saw the remainderof the English fleet coming up from Plymouth Harbor, and he made allsail up the Channel. Owing to the want of powder, the attack of theEnglish was less vigorous than on the day before, but still theydogged the Spaniards in the most persevering manner, and succeeded ininflicting serious damage upon many of the Spanish vessels. The breezefrom the west still continued, but it was light, and the fleets madebut little headway during the day. 

61. On Tuesday, July 23d, a strong morning breeze sprang up from theeast, and the Spaniards found themselves for the first time to thewindward. Taking advantage of the situation, they bore down upon theEnglish fleet, and tried to bring on a general engagement. Thischallenge the English would not accept, and stood out to sea towardthe west. The Spaniards thought they were retreating, and gave chase. All the galleons were bad sailers, but some were better than others, and soon the San Marcus outstripped her consorts. When several milesahead of all her companions the wind shifted to the west, leaving theEnglish to the windward. Lord Howard immediately bore down in hisflag-ship, the Ark, and attacked the San Marcus, but she defendedherself with great bravery, and for an hour and a half foughtsingle-handed, delivering eighty shots and receiving five hundred. Hispowder again giving out, Lord Howard was obliged to withdraw. Thisaction was fought off Plymouth Harbor, so that in the three days'fight the Armada had made no substantial progress toward itsdestination. 

62. "By this time the news that the Armada was in the Channel hadcirculated throughout the length and breadth of England, and fromevery creek and port and harbor came accession of goodly ships, equipped at the cost of leading squires and nobles, and manned by her'best blood. ' From Lyme and Weymouth and Poole and the Isle of Wight, young lords and gentlemen came streaming out in every smack or sloopthey could lay hold of, to snatch their share of danger and glory atHoward's side. The strength which they were able to add was little ornothing, but they brought enthusiasm; they brought to the half-starvedcrews the sense that the heart of all England was with them, and thisassurance transformed every seaman into a hero. 

63. "On Tuesday evening, after the fight, Medina Sidonia counted ahundred sail behind him, and he observed, with some uneasiness, thatthe numbers were continually increasing. On Wednesday, July 24th, theweather was calm, and the English lay idle at a short distance fromthe Armada waiting for powder. 

64. "Thursday, July 25th, was the feast-day of Spain's patron saint, St. Jago; of him who, mounted on a milk-white steed, had ridden infore-front of battle in one of the Spanish encounters with the Moors, and had led them to victory. Should nothing on this holy day be donein his honor by those whom he had so greatly favored? It was decidedto make an attack. The galleys led the way, and in their van rodethree of the four great galliasses, thrashing the sea to foam withthree hundred oars apiece. The English met them with such tremendousdischarges of chain-shot that, had not the wind risen about noon, enabling the Spanish ships to come up to their assistance, the galleyswould surely have been taken. When the lord admiral withdrew hisships, the Spaniards were so cowed that they made no attempt to pursuethem. "

65. "Thus, " says Canon Kingsley, "the fight had thundered on thelive-long afternoon, beneath the virgin cliffs of Freshwater, on theIsle of Wight, while myriad sea fowl rose screaming from every ledge, and with their black wings spotted the snow-white walls of chalk; andthe lone shepherd hurried down the slopes above to peer over the dizzyledge, and forgot the wheat-ear fluttering in his snare, while, trembling, he gazes upon glimpses of tall masts and gorgeous flags, piercing at times the league-broad veil of sulphur-smoke whichweltered far below. "

BRIEF RESPITE FROM BATTLE. 

66. Friday, July 26th, was a tranquil summer day. The wind died away, and the two fleets, but a few miles apart, lay rocking on the waves. The Duke of Medina Sidonia took advantage of the pause and sent aswift messenger to the Prince of Parma, praying him to dispatch to hisassistance forty small sailing-vessels, capable of contending with thelight swift craft of the English. All the next day, July 27th, the twofleets sailed slowly up the Channel in hostile but silentcompanionship--the Spaniard convinced he could not meet the Englishmanin open fight; the Englishman heedful that he should not be surroundedby a superior force. At night the battered and maltreated Armada tookrefuge in the harbor of Calais. 

67. The same afternoon Lord Howard was joined by Sir Harry Seymourwith his squadron of sixteen vessels, which bad been keeping watchalong the eastern ports, and the combined fleet dropped anchor to theeastward of Calais, and within a mile and a half of the French shore. "Never, since England was England, " says Mr. Motley, "had such a sightbeen seen as now revealed itself in those narrow straits between Doverand Calais. Along that low, sandy shore, and quite within the range ofthe Calais fortifications, one hundred and thirty Spanish ships--thegreater number of them the largest and most heavily armed in theworld--lay face to face, and scarcely out of cannon-shot, with onehundred and fifty English sloops and frigates, the strongest andswiftest that the island could furnish, and commanded by men whoseexploits had rung through the world. 

68. "Farther along the coast, invisible but known to be performing amost perilous and vital service, was a squadron of Dutch vessels ofall sizes lining both the outer and inner of the sand-banks of theFlemish coasts and swarming in all the estuaries and inlets of thatintricate and dangerous cruising-ground between Dunkirk andTexel. Those fleets of Holland and Zealand, numbering some one hundredand fifty galleons, sloops, and fly-boats, lay patiently blockadingevery possible egress from the ports in possession of the Duke ofParma, and longing to grapple with him as soon as his fleet ofgunboats and hoys, packed with his Spanish and Italian veterans, should venture to set forth upon the sea for their long-meditatedenterprise. "

69. This friendly attitude of the Dutch to the English was due to avariety of causes. Both nations represented the new religion in itsstruggle against the established church. In consequence of theterrible atrocities of the Duke of Alva, the Dutch had aninextinguishable hatred for the Spaniards, and were ready to doanything to thwart their plans and diminish their power. Then, too, the Dutch remembered how the ships of Elizabeth, laden withprovisions, had brought succor to their beleaguered cities and savedthe lives of their famished people. So, animated by enmity on the oneside and by gratitude on the other, the Dutch for a time forgot theirstruggle for maritime supremacy with the English, and brought alltheir force to bear to support the English cause in its hour ofgreatest need. 

70. The Spaniards seem never to have anticipated this energetic actionon the part of the Dutch. The Duke of Medina Sidonia now found that hecould get no direct sea communication with the Spanish land-forces;and the Duke of Parma found himself in a situation where hisinvincible army was powerless, and his soldierly experience andtalents were of no avail. The plans of the Spanish admiral to make useof the small vessels of Parma had been thwarted by the Dutch, and thedispersion of the Dutch vessels had been prevented by the fierceattack of Howard and Drake upon the Armada. 

71. In coming to anchor on that Saturday night in Calais Harbor, however, the Spaniards had gained two important points. Their shipswere under the protection of friendly land-batteries; and nothingremained to prevent the co-operation of the land-forces and the fleet. The Duke of Parma could march his forces westward and embark fromCalais instead of Dunkirk, and thus turn the flank of the Dutch fleet. 

72. Sunday, July 29th, was a day of suspense and anxiety on the partof both the contending forces. The English knew that a junction withParma was now possible, and Howard and Drake were too good seamen notto know that, in a close and general engagement, the superior size, weight, and numbers of the Spanish ships would prevail. On the otherhand, the Spaniards knew that they were in an unsafe harbor should astrong wind spring up from the west, and Medina Sidonia began to havea wholesome dread of the valor and strength which guarded the homes ofBritain. The day passed in Sabbath quiet and repose, and when the sunset there was no indication that a night's strife was to follow, potential as shaping the future destinies of both Spain and England. 

FRIGHT AND FLIGHT. 

73. During the day, Captain Winter, of the English fleet, suggestedthat the Spaniards might be driven from their anchorage by fire-ships, and his plan was adopted. Six vessels were loaded with wild-fire, rosin, pitch, brimstone, and other combustibles, and made ready tosail. The night was dark, with indications in sky and sea of a cominggale. "When the Spanish bells, " says Froude, "were about strikingtwelve, and, save the watch on deck, soldiers and seamen lay stretchedin sleep, certain dark objects, which had been seen dimly drifting inthe tide near where the galleons lay thickest, shot suddenly intopyramids of light, flames leaping from ruddy sail to sail, flickeringon the ropes and forecastles, masts and bow-sprits, a lurid blaze ofconflagration. 

74. "A cool commander might have ordered out his boats and towed thefire-ships clear; but Medina Sidonia, with a strain already upon himbeyond the strength of his capacity, saw coming some terrible engineof destruction, like the floating mine which had shattered Parma'sbridge at Antwerp. Panic spread through the entire Armada. Hasty andimpetuous cries arose on board each menaced vessel. 'Up anchors, comrades! Out every stitch of canvas! Away, away! for in the track ofthose blazing ships follow death and ruin!'

75. "There are times when immense bodies of men suddenly give way tothe influence of a needless but over-mastering panic, and this was oneof them. Every cable was cut; galleon, galliasse, and patache drovehurriedly through the press of shipping, each heedless of itscomrade's danger, and seeking frantically some channel of escape. Invain the Duke of Medina Sidonia attempted to reform his disorderedarray. So long as the darkness lasted, the confusion prevailed; andship after ship reeled, staggered, and drifted out to sea. Several ofthe Spanish ships were disabled, two were burned, and it was not untilthey found themselves six miles from shore, and at a secure distancefrom the smoldering hulks, that they recovered from their terror. "

RENEWAL OF THE FIGHT. 

76. On Monday, July 29th, when the day dawned, Lord Howard discoveredthe Spanish fleet in great disorder, scattered over a wide space inthe Channel. He immediately ordered an advance, and, while Drake madea bold attack upon the main body of the enemy, the lord high admiraldrove upon the sands several of the sluggard vessels of the Armadawhich the fire-ships had failed to drive out to sea. For several hourshe engaged the great galliasse under the direct command of AdmiralMoncada, which was aground upon the sands. The vessel was captured andMoncada slain, and the English admiral hastened to the assistance ofDrake. 

77. "It was well, " says Froude, "that no more time was wasted over sosmall a matter. Lord Howard had already delayed too long for his fame. It was no time for the admiral of the fleet to be loitering over astray feather which had dropped from the enemy's plume when every shipwas imperiously needed for a far more important service. MedinaSidonia intended to return to Calais, but his ships had drifted in thenight far to the east, and before his signal of return could be obeyedthe English fleet was upon them. 

78. "Sir Henry Seymour, with his sixteen ships, having the advantageof wind, speed, and skill, came upon a cluster of Spanish galleons ateight in the morning. Reserving their fire till within a hundred andtwenty yards, and wasting no cartridges, the English ships continuedthrough the entire forenoon to pour upon them one continuous rain ofshot. They were driven together, and became entangled in a confusedand helpless mass. 

79. "Drake, in the mean time, had fallen upon a score of galleonsunder the direct command of Medina Sidonia himself. They were betterhandled than the rest, and were endeavoring to keep sea-room andretain some command of themselves. But their wretched sailing powersput them to a disadvantage, for which no skill or courage couldcompensate. The English were always at windward of them; and, hemmedin at every turn, they, too, were forced back upon their consorts, hunted together as a shepherd hunts sheep upon a common, and the wholemass of them were forced slowly eastward, away from the only harboropen to them, and into the unknown waters of the North Sea. 

80. "Howard came up at noon to join in the work of destruction. TheSpaniards' gun-practice, always bad, was helpless beyond all pastexperience. From eight o'clock in the morning until sunset theEnglish, almost untouched themselves, fired into them withoutintermission at short range. They ceased only when the last cartridgewas spent, and every man was weary with labor. They took no prizes, and they attempted to take none. Their orders were to sink anddestroy. They saw three great galleons go down, and three more drifttoward the sands, where their destruction was certain. 

81. "On board the Spanish ships all was consternation and despair. Toward sunset the great Santa Maria went down with all on board. Whenthe ships' companies were called over, it was discovered that no lessthan four thousand men had been killed or drowned, and twice as manywounded. The survivors were so utterly dispirited that nothing couldinduce them to face England's sea-kings again. "

CHASE AND DESTRUCTION. 

82. On Tuesday afternoon, July 30th, Lord Howard summoned a council ofwar, which decided upon a course of action. Lord Henry Seymour withhis squadron was to return to guard the mouth of the Thames againstany attempt on the part of Parma, while the remainder of the fleet wasto continue the chase of the Armada. Ninety vessels, under Howard, Drake, and Frobisher, followed the flying Spaniards into the NorthSea. "We have the army of Spain before us, " Drake wrote, "and hope, with the grace of God, to wrestle a fall with him. There was neveranything pleased me better than seeing the enemy flying with asoutherly wind to the northward. God grant you have a good eye to theDuke of Parma, for, if we live, I doubt not to handle the matter withthe Duke of Sidonia, as he shall wish himself at St. Mary's Port, among his orange-trees!"

83. The wind, now strong from the south, had risen to a gale. TheSpanish ships, so fashioned as to sail only before the wind, weredriven northward. Between them and the shore, where lay possiblesafety, was the dreadful English fleet, which had battered them sosorely during the past ten days. Before them was the sea, full ofunknown perils. "Not only man but God was against them. _His_ wind blewdiscomfiture to their meditated enterprise. More than one poor;crippled ship dropped behind as her spars snapped, or the water madeits way through her wounded seams in the straining seas. TheSpaniards, stricken with a wonderful fear, made no attempt to succortheir consorts, but pressed heavily on, leaving them to founder. "

84. The pursuit continued until Friday, August 2d. There was now nomore danger to be apprehended from the scattered enemy. The wind wasthreatening, and, the supply of provisions beginning to fail, Howardand Drake determined on returning homeward, leaving a couple ofpinnaces to dog the Spaniards past the Scottish isles. Though the windwas contrary, they beat back against it without loss, and in four orfive days the vessels, with their half-starved crews, all safelyarrived in Margate Roads, having done the noblest service that fleetever rendered to a country in the hour of supreme peril. 

85. Meanwhile, so much as remained of the Invincible Armada wasbuffeted to and fro by the resistless gale, like a shuttlecock betweentwo invisible players. The monster left its bones on the iron-boundshore of Norway and on the granite cliffs of the Hebrides. Its coursecould be traced by its wrecks. Day followed day, and still God's wrathendured. On the 5th of August Admiral Oguendo, in his flag-ship, together with one of the great galliasses and thirty-eight othervessels, were driven by the fury of the tempest upon the rocks andreefs of Ireland, and nearly every soul on board perished. Of onehundred and thirty-four vessels which, gay with gold and amidtriumphal shouts and loud music, had sailed from Corunna July 12th, only fifty-three battered and useless hulks returned to the ports ofSpain. 

86. The fate and exploits of the Armada are graphically summed up inthe emphatic language of Sir Francis Drake. "It is happilymanifested, " he says, "indeed, to all nations how their navy whichthey termed _invincible_, consisting of nearly one hundred and fortysail of ships, were by thirty of her Majesty's ships of war, and a fewof our own merchants, by the wise and advantageous conduct of LordCharles Howard, High Admiral of England, beaten and shuffled togetherfrom Lizard in Cornwall to Portland, from Portland to Calais; and fromCalais, driven by squibs from their anchors, were chased out of sightof England, round about Scotland and Ireland. With all their great andterrible ostentation, they did not, in all their sailing round aboutEngland, so much as sink or take one ship, bark, pinnace, or cock-boatof ours, or even burn so much as one sheep-cote on the land. "

CHAPTER VIII. 

_FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. _

DISSENT AND PERSECUTION. 

1. Through the middle ages England, like the rest of the world, hadbeen in full communion with the Church of Rome. When the Reformationhad swept over Europe and left dissent to crystallize into variousProtestant sects, England too had dissented, and her king hadestablished the Anglican Church. This church, when it assumed finalform, had for its supreme head, not the pope, but the king, and underhim the clergy held their offices. The Roman Catholic ritual was not, as in some of the European sects, entirely given up, but was modifiedto suit the new order. And when the change was effected, the newministers firm in their positions, the new service-books ready foruse, then the Catholics were summarily ordered to embrace the reformedfaith. 

2. At that time it had not dawned upon the world that there might bemore than one way to worship God in truth. Catholics honestly believedthat Protestants were going straight to perdition, and Protestants ashonestly believed that a like fate was in store for the pope and hisfollowers. When this was the temper of conviction, the natural thingfor each church to do was to persecute every other; not from hate, butfrom the benevolent determination to oblige men to accept the truereligion and save their souls, even though it might be necessary inthe course of proceedings to burn their bodies. Mixed with thislegitimate missionary spirit were all sorts of political motives. Thechurch, whether Catholic or Protestant, was closely connected with thestate, and through all the corruptions of party politics religion hadto be dragged. 

3. So, when the English state established Protestantism, its firstduty and interest was to suppress Catholicism. After two Protestantkings, a Catholic queen came to the throne, and with her theProtestants fell and the Catholics rose. The former were forbiddentheir service, their ministers were turned out of their positions;fines, imprisonment, burning punished those who held out against the"true faith. " Again the scene changed. The queen died, and by herProtestant successor freedom of worship was denied to Catholics, andthe Anglican Church was re-established as the Church of England. 

4. Meantime, in the Church of England a spirit of criticism had grownup. Stricter thinkers disliked the imposing ceremonies which theEnglish church still retained: some of the ministers ceased to weargowns in preaching, performed the marriage ceremony without using aring, and were in favor of simplifying all the church service. Unpretentious workers began to tire of the everlasting quarreling, andto long for a religion simple and quiet. These soon met trouble, forthe rulers had decided that salvation was by the Church of England, asthe sovereign, its head, should order. Dissent was the two-fold guiltof heresy and revolution--sin against God and crime against the kingand English law. They were forbidden to preach at all if they wouldnot wear a gown during service, and the people who went to hear themwere punished. This treatment caused serious thought among the"non-conformists, " as they were called, and, once thinking, they soonconcluded that the king had no such supreme right to order the church, and the church had over its ministers no such right of absolutedictation. 

5. Various sects sprang up, called by various names, differing amongthemselves upon minor points, but agreeing more or less in dissentfrom the full, unquestioned rule and service of the Episcopal Church. Against all these dissenters the laws acted as against the Catholics. Not only must Englishmen be Protestants, they must be Protestants ofthe Church of England. Bodies were organized to keep strict watch ofthe non-conformists. They were forbidden their simpler church worshipand fined if they did not attend that of the English Church. They were"scoffed and scorned by the profane multitude, and so vexed, as trulytheir affliction was not small. "

JOHN ROBINSON'S CONGREGATION. 

6. Among that division of the non-conformists called Puritans was alittle congregation at Scrooby, a town in north England. The pastorwas John Robinson, wise, kind, dignified, scholarly; and his helper inchurch work and government was Elder William Brewster, a college manwho had served at the royal court. For the rest, the congregation weremainly Bible-reading farmers, who wished only to live in peaceaccording to Bible teaching. Royal servants were watchful, and an openchurch was out of the question; but every Sunday they met for servicewherever they could, sometimes in Elder Brewster's big house, sometimes out-doors, anywhere so that they might listen to theirbeloved pastor. During the week they worked their farms, thinking andtalking of the iniquities of the Catholics, the impurities of theEpiscopalians, the hard ways that beset the Puritans, and therighteous God who looked down upon it all to record and avenge. 

7. Quiet as such a simple church in a corner of England must havebeen, it was not left undisturbed. Priests of the dominant church andofficers of the civil service soon pounced down with the demand thatthe Puritan farmers stop all this "new-fangledness, " and return to theways of the loyal church. John Robinson's people, however, had nonotion of giving up their new-fangledness. They possessed a full shareof English obstinacy, and, backed in it by their consciences, were notlikely to surrender at once. So their troubles began. They were huntedand persecuted on every side. Some were clapped into prisons, othershad their houses beset and watched night and day, and hardly escapedtheir hands, and the most were fain to fly and leave their houses andhabitations and the means of their livelihood. 

8. What shall we do? thought the distressed farmers. We can not livein such persecution. We will have to go away. Give up? Indeed, no! Weshall not belie our consciences for any man. Since God is behind us, we _will not_ conform. And, under opposition and injustice, Puritan lipsset themselves rigid, Puritan hearts closed against the persecutors, strong reaction from the beautiful ceremonies and graceful living thatcould hide such unbrotherliness became almost worship of unlovelinessand hardship. In after years the lives of their descendants wereshaped into a narrow severity, not drawn from the sweetness and lightof the gospel which they read, but from the bitter fountains of theirearly sufferings and wrongs. 

9. What shall we do? cried the harassed farmers. We will have to leaveour home and go to Holland, where others like us have already gone, and where, we hear, is freedom of religion for all men. Yet how shouldthey get there? "for, though they could not stay, yet were they notsuffered to go. " And, if they should get there, how could they, who"had only been used to a plain country life and the innocent trade ofhusbandry, " manage to live in a country where people spoke anoutlandish language instead of good English, and earned their money bytrade. 

10. Somehow God would help. Give up their religion they would not. They set about going. They bribed ship captains, feed the sailors, paid unreasonable rates for passage, and then, deserted by these samecaptains and sailors, tried it again with others, were betrayed intothe hands of officers who rifled them of what money they had left andturned them over to prison. Hard luck! Set free from prison, theybargained with a Dutchman to take them in his ship to Holland, but asthey were going aboard a company of armed men surprised them, and theDutchman, afraid to be seen in such company, hastily sailed away withhalf the "Pilgrims, " leaving the rest terrified on the shore. 

11. "Take us back!" cried the men. "Don't you see our wives andchildren crying after us!" But the Dutchman was afraid of thesoldiers. "What will they do without us!" cried the men, strainingtheir eyes to see all that was happening on shore. "Our goods are notyet aboard--take us back!" No use. The Dutchman sailed away, and thesoldiers carried off the frightened women and children to prison. Whenthe authorities had them safely locked up, they did not know what todo with silly women and helpless children, who cried for theirhusbands and fathers, and when asked concerning their homes cried themore and declared they hadn't any; and, after making themselvessufficient trouble, they solved the important problem by letting theridiculous creatures go again. The Dutchman's ship, through a terriblestorm, came to land. The distressed husbands sought the distressedwives, and troublous wanderings ended in reunion. So were theycontinually thwarted; but, by one means or another, determined willsbent circumstances to their end, and at last they reached Holland. 

12. Strangers as they were, destitute, all unused to the new life andpeople, they had trouble enough at first, but they wasted little timestaring at the new world. It was a world they were to become a part ofas soon as possible, and, with characteristic earnestness, they fellto work at any thing they found to do. After a year in Amsterdam theysettled in Leyden. They made them homes. They learned as best theycould the uncouth language. They taught their farmer handsunaccustomed crafts, and applied their farmer heads to the mysteriesof trade. 

13. Elder Brewster, with the tastes and habits of a gentleman, arapidly diminishing property, and a large family of children, lookedabout for work, and presently obtained pupils whom he taught Englishafter an original method. Later he set up a printing-press, and inprinting Puritan books, forbidden to be published in England, foundplenty to do. Mr. Robinson visited his people and was busy for theirwelfare, preached, studied, wrote books; he was a kind friend andhelper, and a scholar besides, and proud of him were his devotedflock. 

14. Leyden Dutchmen looked with curiosity upon the knot of plainforeigners, sober men, quiet women, children named after all the Biblesaints and heavenly virtues. Bibles they brought and evidently read. It was rumored that together every morning and before each meal eachhousehold held service of prayer, and long sermons and variousdevotions wholly filled the Sabbath. Queer people, meditated theHollanders. But they soon found that it was safe to trust the Biblereaders. Though they were peculiar about Sunday, they weresurprisingly certain to keep their promises, and for all theirpropensity to pray without ceasing they made most faithful workmen. Superintendents sought them for laborers, merchants willingly gavethem credit; and with the passing years they became settled andquietly prosperous. The Bibles were not neglected, the daily prayersand weekly sermons were methodically attended. 

15. The unpretentious people were not unobserved. Many from Englandcame to enjoy like freedom of worship, and far outside of Leyden JohnRobinson's learning was known. When Arminians and Calvinists fell intohot disputes, and Leyden ministers and university professors heldpublic meetings twice a week to settle knotty points of doctrine, JohnRobinson was always there, listening eagerly to both sides. Many afamous talk he bad with the ministers and professors. We must have Mr. Robinson confute the Arminians, cried his friends among themselves. 

16. So on a day the Puritan pastor, somewhat demurring because he wasa foreigner, yet withal not loath to ride a tilt with the enemy, confronted Episcopus, the Arminian professor; and it is reported bythe Calvinists that his overwhelming arguments utterly nonplussed andput the great Episcopus to rout. Oh, those theological debates! Aboutthe paltry affairs of this world it was not right to quarrel. Whenpersonal considerations were at stake, Puritan worthies could bridlethe tongue; but when was called in question some keenly felt phase ofthe truth, some doctrine their precious Bible seemed to teach, thenthe repressed fire burst into legitimate flame, and righteousindignation with magnificent effect hurled back and forth thethunderbolts of prophecy and psalm. 

THE DEPARTURE FROM LEYDEN. 

17. After some eleven or twelve years of this life in Leyden thePuritans began to grow restless. Holland was not home to them, andthey were lonely. Some of them were growing old, and the somber burdenof poverty and exile began to weary the brave shoulders. The childrenwere growing up, and hard work and cramped life pressed all tooseverely upon the young natures, so that they either threw off theyoke and turned to bad ways or, bearing it patiently, missed thechance of education and grew old before their time. They feared tostay longer in this foreign country lest the children should learnfrom the Dutch to break the Sabbath, should lose their nativelanguage, should cease to be Englishmen. 

18. Perhaps it would be best to move again and settle in some landunder the flag of dear England--harsh England, that would not grantthem peace at home. Though they should have to go to most distantregions, they would cheerfully go, and consider themselves God'smissionaries there, if only they might have the protection ofEngland's king. They would go and break the way for others of theircountrymen less strong, and in America, if need be, prepare an Englishhome for Englishmen. 

19. Gravely the elders talked together. The uncongenial life had beencheerfully borne; a new uprooting and uncertain change would be assteadfastly carried through, once they were sure God willed it. And atlast it seemed best to decide upon removal. "The dangers were greatbut not desperate, the difficulties were many but not invincible--andall of them, through the help of God, by fortitude and patience, mighteither be borne or overcome. " Sturdy courage! O England, to exilesuch sons!

20. Where, then, should they go? "I will guide thee, " reads thepromise of the Puritan's Bible, and to God they turn in prayer fordirection. A general meeting is held, and much discussion results inthe decision to cross the Atlantic to Virginia, Great Britain's vastnew realm. They would not settle near the colony already plantedthere, for that was of the Episcopal Church and might molest them; butaway by themselves somewhere--anywhere, if only they might nestle in aremote corner of their king's dominions, and on English soil be freeto follow their own conscience. God and the king was the loyalthought--yet, if there _must_ be choice, the king shall not be first. 

21. But, sending petition to the king, they found that he would givethem no assurance of freedom of worship; it was intimated that, ifthey did go, the royal eye might be expected to wink at theproceeding; but, as for promises, royalty would not commit itself. Here was a discouragement. How should they dare break up their homesand cross the ocean to an unknown, uncolonized land, with no assuranceof protection and liberty when they arrived there? But the leadersrallied again: "If on the king's part there is a purpose or desire towrong us, " they cried, "though we had a seal as broad as thehouse-floor it would not serve the turn, for there would be meansenough found to recall or reverse it. . . . We must rest herein onGod's providence, as we have done before. " Not lacking incomprehension of the world's ways and in canny shrewdness were thosePuritans!

22. Wearisome negotiations then began with men who should furnishmeans for the removal. Back and forth, from Leyden to London, fromLondon to Leyden, the agents went; letters passed from Robinson andBrewster to the London merchants, and from the London merchants back. Poor Robert Cushman, agent for the Puritans, experienced numeroustribulations; pushed by the merchants to make an agreement, blamed byhis friends for going beyond his instructions, his letters defendinghimself give a spirited glimpse into the harrowed soul of aquick-tempered Christian. 

23. After months of all this, the arrangements were concluded. A bodyof London merchants agreed to furnish ships and provisions for thepassage, on certain conditions: for seven years after landing thePuritans were to hold all property in common; they were to fish, plant, build, and at the end of seven years were to share with themerchants, according to certain specified conditions, the accumulatedproperty, capital, and profits. Hard terms! But they could not choose, and go they must. 

24. Who should go? This question agitated the Leyden congregation. Notall could take the voyage. Perhaps not all cared to: it was so far, sofar! Yet the most were willing, and it remained to select from thelarge congregation those most fit for the hard task. There wasdividing of friend from friend, of husband from wife, of father fromchild. Elder Brewster would go as their spiritual leader, since thebeloved pastor must for the present stay with those who remained, hoping later to cross the sea and come to them. 

25. A ship, the Speedwell, was fitted up in Holland; another, theMayflower, awaited them in England. When all was ready they appointeda day of solemn fasting and prayer. Pastor Robinson preached to them"a good part of the day" on the text, "And there at the river, byAhava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble ourselves before ourGod and seek of him a right way for us and for our children and forall our substance, " and "the rest of the time was spent in pouring outprayers to the Lord with great fervency mixed with abundance of tears. " Again they met together in a "feast" at the pastor's house. Sorryfeasting!

26. The hospitality was large, but hearts were too full for much buttears: a tender, painful farewell gathering, their white-haired pastorgoing about among them with words of comfort and counsel, gentle lastsuggestions, scripture texts believed, though the voice that repeatsthem trembles and breaks--believed and clung to through the tug ofparting. "Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I amthy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I willuphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness!" "God is ourrefuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore willnot we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains becarried into the midst of the sea. The Lord of hosts is with us; theGod of Jacob is our refuge. " Yes, they believed. And believing, theysang through tears--quivering pain notes at first, then, faithdominating, the tones grew firmer and sustained, until the final wordsrang out clear and strong; and with the end of the hymn they wereready for last earnest hand-clasps and quiet good-night. 

27. To take ship, they went to Delft Haven, fourteen miles fromLeyden, and to the port Pastor Robinson, with most of their friends, accompanied them. One more night on land, then the long voyage and theuncertain future. There was little sleep that night; and again, withBible words and Christian counsel, hearts were strengthened. 

28. In the morning, the wind being fair, "they went aboard and theirfriends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad andmournful parting, to see what sighs and sobs and prayers did soundamong them. " We know, we know--God _is_ our refuge--but sore is theparting. We _are_ willing--but our hearts are wrung. There is no thoughtof regret or turning--but oh, the pain of it! The Dutchmen, loiteringin the sunshine on the shore, watching with heavy curiosity thisstrange departure, suddenly find their own eyes filled withsympathetic tears. We must be off! cries the captain, half impatientover so much fervency and tears. They kneel around the pastor, and, with unsteady voice, though his trust is firm, he calls upon the Godin whom they believe to guide and bless these his children. Once morethe arms cling close. "Mother, mother, how can I let you go!" "Mychild, my child!" "Beloved, you will come over to me soon. " "Oh, myhusband!" "God wills it; I must go. " "My son, I shall not live to seeyour face again. " Loosen the clasping arms; unfold the clingingfingers. You stay and we go, and the ocean lies between. The windcomes breathing, the sails fill; good-by! good-by! across the wideningspace--and they are gone. 

THE VOYAGE. 

29. They sailed first to meet the Mayflower and others of the Puritancompany at Southampton, England. There they called Robert Cushman toaccount, fell out with one of their London patrons, read together anaffectionate farewell letter from Mr. Robinson, made all finalarrangements for the voyage, and on August 5th, 1620, set sail in thetwo ships for America. But the captain of the Speedwell, half-heartedin the business, twice had them back to land to repair pretendedleaks; and the second time, putting in at Plymouth, it was determinedto leave the Speedwell and a part of the Puritan band. The littlecompany, small enough before, was again reduced, "like Gideon's army. " Some were discouraged with the many hindrances and willingly stayed;some were beginning to fear for the success of the voyage, undertakenso late in the season; some were weak, and, could be spared wherethere was need of the strongest; some little children were sent backto await a later passage; Robert Cushman, vexed to the soul by theunsatisfactoriness of his negotiations, sick and disheartened, stayedbehind. Again there were sad parting, tears, and prayers; but Godwould sustain, and, leaving the companion ship and the last friends, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, September 6th. 

30. One hundred and two "Pilgrims, " seeking a better country: men, women, children, servants and hand-maidens. Elder William Brewsterwith his wife Mary, his two sons Love and Wrestling, and a boy, Richard More; the Winslows, with two men-servants and Richard More'slittle sister Ellen; William Bradford and his wife Dorothy, their onlychild being left behind; the Allertons, the Martins, the Whites, withtheir son Resolved; Mr. And Mrs. Mullins with their children Josephand Priscilla, and a servant; Mr. Hopkins and his family; Mr. Warren, lonely enough without the wife and children left behind; JohnBillington, his wife Ellen, and his two sons; the two Tilley families, with their cousins Henry Samson and Humility Cooper, children whoseparents were not with them; Mr. Cook and John his son, his wife andother children being in England yet, John Rigdale and Alice his wife;Miles Standish, bold English soldier, with Rose his wife; John Alden, the cooper, "a hopeful young man and much desired"; Thomas Tinker, with his wife and child; these and many others in the little shipsailed over the wide ocean in search of an English home whereEnglishmen might freely worship God. 

31. The voyage at first was fair enough. They were seasick, some ofthem; the children had to be watched lest they fall overboard; aprofane bully of a sailor, after using all manner of abuse toward thesick ones, himself fell ill and died, "And, " says William Bradford, recording it, "thus his curses light on his own head, and it was anastonishment to all his fellows, for they noted it to be the just handof God upon him. " Later came storms and danger, with breaking ofmasts, eager consultation among the ship's officers, water, wind, confusion; but the masts were mended and they "committed themselves tothe will of God and resolved to proceed. " Big John Howland, coming ondeck, was thrown into the sea by a lurch of the ship, but with a ropewas hauled in again and saved. Before they came to land a little boywas born in the Hopkins family, and they named him Oceanus; and SamuelFuller's servant, a young man named William Butten, died as theyneared the coast. 

32. The hard voyage was over at last, and on the 9th of November CapeCod appeared. They knew about Cape Cod from the map and book ofCaptain John Smith, who had tried to plant a colony there some yearsbefore, but they intended to land somewhere near the Hudson River, andturned south along the coast. Shoals and breakers barring theirpassage that way, they returned, and, on November 11th, anchored inCape Cod harbor. "Being now passed the vast ocean and a sea oftroubles, before their preparation unto further proceedings . . . Theyfell down upon their knees and blessed the Lord, the God of Heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and deliveredthem from all perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet onthe firm and stable earth, their proper element. "

33. So there they were, and as yet no one had left the ship. It waswinter. The cold blue ocean beat the cold white shore, and the darkforest further back rustled and moaned in the north wind, whistlingbleak welcome. What could those women and children do there? West fromthe sea lay an unexplored country, no one knew how large; dark forestuninhabited, save for the dusky Indian, clothed the land in anunbroken mystery of wilderness; north and south stretched the desolatecoast, stretched five hundred miles ere it reached the nearestEuropean settlement; east lay the ocean, not to be recrossed. Howcould the men build shelter in the midst of a northern winter? Andthey must build, for the ship's store of provisions was none toolarge, and the captain impatient to be off again before famine set in. After ages of comfort--shiver to think of it!--that lone, coldlanding; the stretching, desolate coast; the cutting, wind-blown snow;the little anchored ship, bearing treasure of warm human hearts, strong human wills, clear purpose, courage untamed. Slight protection, the rocking ship, for such precious store of life, with that white, relentless winter coming down upon the bay. 

34. The day of casting anchor, those steadfast, earnest men, whose Godwas the Lord, and whose king was James of England, gathered in theMayflower cabin and, by a formal statement written and signed, formedthemselves into a civil state. Note the words of the compact: "In thename of God, amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyalsubjects of our dread sovereign lord, King James--" have fled overseas from English persecution? No--"have undertaken, for the glory ofGod and the advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our kingand country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern partsof Virginia. " God and the king; true Christians and true Englishmen. The document reads with a calm dignity, a clear political instinct, asolemn religious faith, worthy of Englishmen. They may have bravedEnglish laws for conscience' sake, but there is no bravado; they maykeenly feel the injustice they have experienced, but there was norepining. 

35. Then began expeditions to the land. The men, under CaptainStandish, went in parties in a small boat, returning to the ship atnight, or, in some cases, they camped on the shore and were away fromthe ship several days. Wading to the shore through water too shalloweven for the small boat, with sea-spray freezing as it covered them, tramping through the snow, breaking through the forest, with prayereach morning, and always a day of rest on Sunday, they explored thecoast and wilderness for the best place to settle. They found yellowIndian corn buried by the Indians in sand-heaps, and carried it to theship, counting it God's special providence that they were thusprovided with seed to plant the next year. "The Lord is never wantingunto his in their greatest needs; let his holy Name have all thepraise!" cried William Bradford. November wore away, dark and wild, and with set teeth December came. Back and forth went the exploringparties. A skirmish with the Indians took place; but "it pleased Godto vanquish their enemies and give them deliverance, and by hisspecial providence so to dispose, that not any one of them was hurt orhit, though their arrows came close. " Thereupon they gave the Lordsolemn thanks, and named the place "The First Encounter. "

36. After a stormy, dangerous week, Saturday, December 9th, dawnedclear, and the sun shone down on the snowy world. The Sabbath day theexplorers observed on shore, and Monday they "sounded the harbor andfound it fit for shipping, and marched into the land and found a . . . Place fit for situation; at least, it was the best they could find, and the season and their present necessity made them glad to accept ofit. So they returned to their ship again with this news to the rest oftheir people, which did much comfort their hearts. " This day, December 11th, old style, corresponding to December 21st, new style, is celebrated as the date of the "landing of the Pilgrims. "

37. Meantime, what of those left in the ship these four dreary weeks?The ways of life went on in births and deaths; six of the wanderersfound the door of the other world; and Peregrine White came intothis--first-born of New England. The little boy Jasper More, who camein care of the Carvers, died; and Dorothy Bradford fell overboard andwas drowned while her husband was exploring the coast. The men hadterrible coughs and colds from wading through the freezing sea, andthe women were beginning to suffer from the hardship of it all. Thechildren, child-like, adapted themselves to the situation. Mr. Billington being gone to the shore, his son John, with the family gunwell loaded, took occasion to try his skill by shooting it off in thecabin; "yet, by God's mercy, no harm was done!"

38. Midwinter, and provisions low. Seven already buried in the ocean. Sickness setting in with more severity, women and children to besomehow cared for, two tiny babies to be shielded from all harm, theironly home the inhospitable shore. No time to lose! The 16th they beganto build the first house, and so was planted Plymouth. 

39. In that dead winter time sprang Plymouth. Cold for the seed of theMayflower, but Mayflower's seed did not easily die. The houses wentup, one after another, and as it became possible the company on theship were transferred to the land. The ship, indeed, became more andmore undesirable: sickness prevailed; the sailors did not escape, butdragged about or tossed in their beds in fierce impatience, and, ofthe Puritans, half their number died before the end of March. ElderBrewster and strong Miles Standish, with half-a-dozen others who wereleft in health, toiled night and day, cooking, building fires, makingbeds, washing clothes, adapting their masculine hands to women'soffices as they dressed and undressed the feverish patients, cared forthe babies whose mothers lay ill, heard the children say theirprayers. Ah, Miles Standish, rough captain, nowhere do you stand outbraver than against that background! And Rose, thy wife, Rose Standishtoo must die, ere ever she comes to the home on the shore. 

40. The winter wears on. The Indians come to investigate, later totreat with the English. Since there are few well enough to build, thelittle settlement, snowbound between the ocean and the forest, growsbut slowly. Sometimes death comes twice and thrice in a day, and thewhole scene is a funeral and the ocean one black grave. Yet they bearit all patiently, silently: it is the hand of the Lord. PriscillaMullins sees her father, her mother, her brother, buried in theheartless sea, and stands in the New World alone. "God is our refugeand strength, a very present help in trouble. " Priscilla can bear itas a brave woman will, and, later, finds protection in the strong armof John Alden. Mr. Winslow watches the waves close over the form ofhis wife. "My life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing, . . . But I trusted in thee, O Lord; my times are in thy hand. " He canbear it as a brave man can, and not many months after finds comfort intaking to himself the widow of Mr. White; the two knit together bycommon sorrow and danger. Elizabeth Tilley loses father and mother. John Rigdale and Alice, his wife, die together. Thomas Tinker, wife, and child, all die there in the ship. And the north wind beat the seaand blew through the bare trees. Desolate, desolate welcome! "From theend of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed:lead me to the rock that is higher than I. The rock of my strength andmy refuge is in God. " They could bear it and be brave; and they did, until God sent the spring with new health for his people. 

41. Warmer shines the sun, and April comes. All the people--all whomdeath has left--are in the houses now, and the Mayflower is ready forthe home voyage. They gather at the shore to see the last of her, andsend last messages back to the dear home land. Back goes the ship, straight to Old England; yet, with that fearful winter freezing intheir memories, scarce fifty of them left to found the lonelysettlement, weak yet and worn, not one returns to the easier life athome. The Mayflower disappears on the eastern horizon; the lastwatcher by the shore is satisfied that she is gone; and then alone, self-governed, self-dependent, free, the sea and wilderness circlingclose about them, God their Father watching overhead, the Puritanstake up their stern life, and in America create New England, _Ellen Coit Brown. _

LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 

 42. The breaking waves dashed high On a stern and rock-bound coast, And the woods, against a stormy sky, Their giant branches tossed. 

 43. And the heavy night hung dark The woods and waters o'er, When a band of exiles moored their bark On the wild New England shore. 

 44. Not as the conqueror comes, They, the true-hearted, came; Not with the roll of the stirring drums, And the trumpet that speaks of fame;

 45. Not as the flying come, In silence and in fear-- They shook the depths of the desert's gloom With their hymns of lofty cheer. 

 46. Amidst the storm they sang; And the stars heard, and the sea; And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free!

 47. The ocean eagle soared From his nest by the white wave's foam, And the rocking pines of the forest roared-- This was their welcome home. 

_Mrs. Hemans_

[Illustration: _Landing of the Pilgrims_]

THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 48. Behold! they come--those sainted forms, Unshaken through the strife of storms; Heaven's winter cloud hangs coldly down, And earth puts on its rudest frown; But colder, ruder, was the hand That drove them from their own fair land; Their own fair land--Refinement's chosen seat, Art's trophied dwelling, Learning's green retreat; By Valor guarded and by Victory crowned, For all but gentle Charity renowned. 

 49. With streaming eye, yet steadfast heart, Even from that land they dared to part, And burst each tender tie; Haunts, where their sunny youth was passed, Homes, where they fondly hoped at last In peaceful age to die. Friends, kindred, comfort, all they spurned, Their fathers' hallowed graves, And to a world of darkness turned, Beyond a world of waves. 

 50. When Israel's race from bondage fled, Signs from on high the wanderers led; But here--Heaven hung no symbol here, Their steps to guide, their souls to cheer; They saw, through sorrow's lengthening night, Naught but the fagot's guilty light; The cloud they gazed at was the smoke. Nor power above, nor power below, Sustained them in their hour of woe; A fearful path they trod, And dared a fearful doom; To build an altar to their God, And find a quiet tomb. 

 51. Yet, strong in weakness, there they stand On yonder ice--bound rock, Stern and resolved, that faithful band, To meet Fate's rudest shock. Though anguish rends the father's breast, For them, his dearest and his best, With him the waste who trod-- Though tears that freeze the mother sheds Upon her children's houseless heads-- The Christian turns to God. 

 52. In grateful adoration now Upon the barren sands they bow. What tongue of joy e'er woke such prayer As bursts in desolation there? What arm of strength e'er wrought such power As waits to crown that feeble hour? When into life an infant empire springs, There falls the iron from the soul, There Liberty's young accents roll Up to the King of kings!

 53. Spread out earth's holiest record here, Of days and deeds to reverence dear; A zeal like this, what pious legends tell? On kingdoms built In blood and guilt, The worshipers of vulgar triumph dwell: But what exploit with them shall page Who rose to bless their kind-- Who left their nation and their age Man's spirit to unbind Who boundless seas passed o'er, And boldly met in every path, Famine, and frost, and heathen wrath, To dedicate a shore Where Piety's meek train might breathe their vow, And seek their Maker with an unshamed brow; Where Liberty's glad race might come, And set up there an everlasting home!

_Charles Sprague_. 

CHAPTER IX. 

_PLASSEY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WON. _

1. India, the great peninsula stretching from the Himalayas to CapeComorin, is nearly half as large as Europe, and contains a populationof 150, 000, 000. Myth and tradition claim for this people a very greatantiquity, and there are many evidences that in arts, government, andliterature, India is at least coeval with China and Egypt, the threeconstituting the most ancient civilizations of the world. WhileWestern Europe was still the abode of barbarians, and while evenGreece had scarcely felt the impulse which aroused her to intellectuallife, the fabrics of India had reached a marvelous degree of finenessand beauty; and the monarchs of the West counted it a great privilegeto be clothed in the "purple and fine linen" of the Orient. 

EARLY HISTORY. 

2. The early history of India seems a confused tangle of strifes andcontentions between different nations and races for the possession ofthis region, inexpressibly rich in all that makes a land desirable forthe occupation of man, and of wars between local rulers striving fordominion. In the midst of this confusion, however, there seems to begood evidence that the early civilization made its first appearance inthe valleys of the Upper Indus; that all invasions, until recenttimes, were from the fierce tribes of the table-lands to thenorthwest; that the industrious people of the valleys were driven fromtheir homes by successive incursions of barbarians, extending throughmany centuries; that each horde, becoming partially civilized, was inturn driven forward; and that the migrations were continuous from thenorth to the south. Thus it happens that at present the population ofIndia consists of at least thirty distinct nationalities, and that theaboriginal possessors of the Vale of Cashmere have been drivenforward, until now they are found only upon the summits of theNeilgherry Mountains, in the extreme southern part of the peninsula. 

THE MOGUL EMPIRE. 

3. The Brahminical religion has prevailed in India from the earliestperiod. The first literary productions of the people are the Vedas, the sacred books of the Brahmins. This religion is tolerant andinclusive. Its pantheon recognizes so many gods that each barbaroustribe from the North found their own deity represented, so that theircrude religious notions readily merged in the more complicated systemof the people they had conquered. The great Buddhistic reform spentits force, and, although triumphant in other lands, it left but littleimpress in India where it originated. The whole people believed theBrahminical creed and practiced the Brahminical precepts. It was areligion that included the purest abstractions and the grossest formof idolatry. While absorbing all other creeds, it never sought to makeconverts to its own. 

4. The later incursions from the northwest were essentially differentfrom their predecessors. The tribes of the table-lands had beenconverted to the fanatical and proselyting faith of Mohammed. Aboutthe middle of the sixteenth century, a Mongol tribe, strong andstalwart from late successful wars, and full of the fierce zeal ofrecent converts to Moslemism, appeared at the northern gate of India, and in a short time overspread the country and established the MogulEmpire, with its capital at Delhi. The stern conquerors never resteduntil they had firmly established their authority over the wholecountry. 

5. The first great Sultan, Baber, had a genius for government. He wasfirm and temperate in his administration, and he protected the commonpeople from the worst rapacity of their former rulers. Out of thechaos of native rule he evoked something like civilized order, and heestablished the Mogul Empire upon the foundation of a higher form ofjustice than had ever before been practiced in the East. After a reignof fifty years, this great monarch died in 1605, two years before theadventurous John Smith set foot upon the territory of Virginia. 

6. For another hundred years, the Mogul Emperors, descendants ofBaber, held firm possession of India, and in that time the countryreached the height of its power in wealth and influence. Temples andpalaces, in richness and beauty surpassing the most gorgeous dreams ofwestern-bred people, arose on every side. Arts flourished as neverbefore, and the commerce of India overland to the West was so greatthat large cities sprung up along its track, solely supported by thetrading caravans. The gold from all the nations toward the setting sunwas drained to pay for Indian fabrics, and India became the richestcountry of the world. 

7. In the beginning of the eighteenth century the Mogul Empire beganto decline. Weak and effeminate monarchs occupied the throne of Baberand Shah Jehan. The governors of great provinces, while ruling underthe name of the Mogul, became really independent, and in turnsub-provinces revolted and set up an independent rule. From 1700 to1750, the whole country was ablaze with civil war. Rapaciouschieftains plundered the people, the arts declined, industry of allkinds languished, and the country upon which Nature had lavished herrichest blessings seemed to be surrendered hopelessly to oppressionand misrule. 

EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA. 

8. During the last century of the Mogul rule, and the following halfcentury of anarchy, a new element entered into the affairs of India, which was destined to effect great and revolutionary changes. Following the wake of Vasco da Gama, the maritime powers of WesternEurope all entered into a trade with India by the way of the Cape ofGood Hope. The long caravan route through Central Asia was abandoned, and ships of the sea took the place of ships of the desert. Lisbon, Amsterdam, and London absorbed the trade which had made Bagdad, Aleppo, and Bassorah opulent, and these renowned cities of Harounal-Rashid speedily declined in wealth, power, and influence. ThePortuguese, Dutch, French, and English entered into eager competitionto secure the trade of India by the new route, and, to facilitatecommercial operations, stations called factories were establishedalong the coast. By the consent of the native princes, these factoriesand a small territory adjacent were under the exclusive civil controlof the people occupying them. 

[Illustration: _Street Scene in Calcutta_]

9. For a hundred and fifty years these factories remained mere tradingstations, taking no part in the general political affairs of thecountry. While trade was active, and the profits great, the East IndiaCompanies who controlled the factories were content; and, while theannual tribute or rent was paid with regularity, the native princeshad a strong motive for protecting the trading companies in theiroperations. But the display of barbaric splendor excited the cupidityof many of the agents of the companies, and the atrocities of barbarictyranny aroused the indignation of others, and there came a time wheninterference in native affairs seemed both natural and proper. 

10. The time of the new departure in policy was about the middle ofthe eighteenth century; the place, the southeast coast; and theoccasion, the civil wars which grew out of disputed succession. Thestudent of history finds it difficult to understand fully thepolitical situation at the time. One of the most powerful of all theprovinces of the Mogul Empire was "The Deccan, " which extended itssway over all of Southern India. The ruler, known as the "Nizam, "administered the government in the name of the Mogul, but in realityhe was independent, and a true Eastern despot. The chief province ofthe Deccan was "The Carnatic, " which embraced all the territory alongthe eastern coast. The sovereign of this region, called the "Nabob, "while paying a nominal tribute to the Nizam, was really independent, raising revenue, waging wars, and forming alliances without referenceto either the government of the Deccan or that of the Mogul Empire. 

11. To add to the general confusion, bands of Mahrattas, in numbersforming large armies, were constantly roaming through the country, andlevying contributions on both the governments and the people. Thispeculiar race was at first a mere band of robbers, which descendedfrom the western mountains of India, but by repeated conquests, and byaccessions from the wild and turbulent classes of all parts of thecountry, they bad become a great power, and ruled in many fertileprovinces. "In becoming sovereigns, they did not cease to befreebooters. Every region which was not subject to their rule waswasted by their incursions. Whenever their kettle-drums were heard, the peasant threw his bag of rice on his shoulder, hid his smallsavings in his girdle, and fled with his wife and children to themountains or the jungles, to the milder neighborhood of the hyena andthe tiger. "

DUPLEIX AND FRENCH POLICY. 

12. At this time the two principal factories on the east coast ofIndia were the British station at Fort St. George, now Madras, and theFrench station at Pondicherry, eighty miles farther south. The firstman who seems to have entertained definite notions about building up aEuropean sovereignty upon the ruins of the Mogul Empire was Dupleix, the French Governor at Pondicherry. His long residence in the East hadgiven him a knowledge of Indian affairs that few Europeans possessed. "His restless, capacious, and inventive mind, " says Macaulay, "hadformed this scheme at a time when the oldest servants of the EnglishCompany were busied only about invoices and bills of lading. Nor hadhe only proposed for himself the end. He had also a just and distinctview of the means by which it was to be attained. 

13. "He clearly saw that the greatest force which the princes of Indiacould bring into the field would be no match for the small body of mentrained in the discipline and guided by the tactics of the West. Hesaw, also, that the natives of India might, under European commanders, be formed into armies such as Saxe or Frederick would be proud tocommand. He was perfectly aware that the most easy and convenient wayin which a European adventurer could exercise sovereignty in India wasto govern the motions, and speak through the mouth, of some glitteringpuppet dignified by the title of Nabob or Nizam. The arts, both of warand policy, which a few years later were employed with such signalsuccess by the English, were first understood and practiced by thisingenious and aspiring Frenchman. "

14. In 1748 the Nizam of the Deccan died. Two claimants for the throneappeared in the persons of Nazir Jung, son of the old Nizam, andMirzapha Jung, a grandson. About the same time an adventurer, ChundaSahib, set up a claim for the throne of the Carnatic against AnaverdyKhan, the reigning prince. Here was the opportunity for Dupleix tocarry his long-cherished plans into execution. He espoused the causeof Chunda Sahib in the Carnatic, and sent four hundred French soldiersto his assistance. A battle was fought and Anaverdy Khan was killed. His son Mohammed Ali fled with a scanty remnant of his army toTrichinopoly, and nearly all the Carnatic submitted to the conqueror. 

15. Next Dupleix lent his French soldiers to Mirzapha Jung, who in ashort time became master of the Deccan. The new sovereigns showeredwealth and favors upon the successful Frenchman. He was declaredgovernor of a territory in India as large as all France, with apopulation of 50, 000, 000 people. He was placed in command of thelargest military force of the country. He was presented with a milliondollars in money and many valuable jewels. Neither the Nizam nor theNabob concluded any affairs of moment without his advice and consent. He was, in fact, invested with sovereign powers, and French influencein Southern India was paramount and seemingly firmly established. 

16. The triumph of the French arms carried consternation to theBritish factory at St. George. Unless the victorious career of Dupleixcould be stayed, not only would British influence be destroyed, butthe very existence of their trading posts would soon be at an end. Atthis time the government of St. George was feeble. The militaryofficers in command were without experience. Everything betokenedspeedy and irretrievable ruin. In this emergency the valor and geniusof an obscure English youth suddenly turned the tide of fortune. 

ROBERT CLIVE AND THE SIEGE OF ARCOT. 

17. Robert Clive had gone to India in the service of the company ascommissary to the soldiers stationed at Fort St. George. His dutieswere those of a clerk. He was now twenty-five years old, but had hadno experience in military affairs. Like Dupleix, however, he seemed tocomprehend the political situation of the country, and when theemergency came that called forth his powers, he was found to possessboth military genius and profound statesmanship. He represented to theofficers of the post that if Trichinopoly, now besieged by ChundaSahib and his French allies, should surrender, Mohammed Ali wouldperish, and French influence would become supreme. As the distance ofTrichinopoly from Fort St. George was so great as to preclude thepossibility of marching directly to the assistance of their ally, headvocated the bold project of making a diversion by a sudden attackupon Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, and the favorite residence ofthe Nabob. His plans were approved, and he was appointed commander tocarry them into execution. 

18. "The young captain, " says Macaulay, "was put at the head of twohundred English soldiers and three hundred sepoys, armed anddisciplined after the English fashion. The weather was stormy, butClive pushed on through thunder, lightning, and rain, to the gates ofArcot. The garrison in a panic evacuated the fort and the Englishentered it without a blow. Clive immediately began to collectprovisions, to throw up works, and make preparations for sustaining asiege. The garrison, which had fled at his approach, had now recoveredfrom its dismay, and, re-enforced to the number of three thousand men, it encamped close to the town. At dead of night Clive marched out ofthe fort, attacked the camp by surprise, slew great numbers, dispersedthe rest, and returned to his quarters without having lost a singleman. 

19. "The news of the fall of Arcot soon reached Chunda Sahib, as hewas besieging Trichinopoly. An army under the command of his son RajahSahib, numbering ten thousand native troops and one hundred and fiftyFrenchmen, was immediately dispatched to Arcot, and proceeded toinvest the fort, which seemed quite incapable of sustaining a siege. The walls were ruinous and the ditches dry. The garrison, reduced bycasualties, now consisted of one hundred and fifty English soldiersand two hundred sepoys. The stock of provisions was scanty, and thecommander was a youth of five and twenty, who had been bred abook-keeper. 

20. "During fifty days the siege went on. During fifty days the youngcaptain maintained the defense with a firmness, vigilance, and abilitywhich would have done honor to the oldest marshal in Europe. Thegarrison began to feel the pressure of hunger. At this juncture thesepoys came to Clive, not to complain of their scanty fare, but topropose that all the grain should be given to the Europeans, whorequired more nourishment than the natives of Asia. The thin gruel, they said, which was strained away from the rice, would suffice forthemselves. The devotion of Clive's little band equaled that of theTenth Legion of Caesar, or of the Old Guard of Napoleon. 

21. "Clive looked for succor from two sources. An attempt made by thegovernment at Madras to relieve the place failed, but there was stillhope from another quarter. A body of six thousand Mahrattas, under achief named Morari Row, had been hired to assist Mohammed Ali; but asthe French power seemed irresistible, this force bad hitherto remainedinactive on the frontiers of the Carnatic. The fame of the defense ofArcot roused them from their torpor. Rajah Sahib learned that theMahrattas were in motion. It was necessary for him to be expeditious. He first offered large bribes to Clive, and vowed that if hisproposals were not accepted he would instantly storm the fort and putevery man to the sword. Clive told him in reply that his father was ausurper and that his army was a rabble, and that he would do well tothink twice before he sent such poltroons into a breach defended byEnglish soldiers. 

22. "Rajah Sahib determined to storm the fort. The day was well suitedto a bold military enterprise. It was the great Mohammedan festivalwhich is sacred to the memory of Hosein the son of Ali. The history ofIslam contains nothing more touching than the event which gave rise tothat solemnity. The mournful legend relates how the chief of theFatimites, when all his brave followers had perished round him, drankhis last draught of water and uttered his latest prayer; how theassassins carried his head in triumph, smote the lifeless lips withhis staff, and how a few old men recollected with tears that they hadseen those lips pressed to the lips of the prophet of God. 

23. "After the lapse of near twelve centuries, the recurrence of thissolemn season excites the fiercest and saddest emotions in the bosomsof the devout Moslems of India. They work themselves up to suchagonies of rage and lamentation that some, it is said, have given upthe ghost from the mere effect of mental excitement. They believe thatwhoever, during this festival, falls in arms against the infidels, atones by his death for all the sins of life, and passes at once tothe Garden of the Houris. It was at this time that Rajah Sahibdetermined to assault Arcot. Stimulating drugs were employed to aidthe effect of religious zeal, and the besiegers, drunk withenthusiasm, drunk with bang, rushed furiously to the attack. 

24. "Clive had received secret intelligence of the design, had madehis arrangements, and, exhausted by fatigue, had thrown himself on hisbed. He was awakened by the alarm, and was instantly at his post. Theenemy advanced, driving before them elephants whose foreheads werearmed with iron plates. It was expected that the gates would yield tothe shock of these living battering-rams. But the huge beasts nosooner felt the English musket-balls than they turned round and rushedfuriously away, trampling on the multitude which had urged themforward. A raft was launched on the water which filled one part of theditch. Clive, perceiving that his gunners at that post did notunderstand their business, took the management of a piece of artilleryhimself, and cleared the raft in a few minutes. 

25. "Where the moat was dry the assailants mounted with greatboldness; but they were received with a fire so heavy and so welldirected that it soon quelled the courage even of fanaticism andintoxication. The rear ranks of the English kept the front rankssupplied with a constant succession of loaded muskets, and every shottold on the living mass below. After three desperate onsets, thebesiegers retired behind the ditch. 

26. "The struggle lasted about an hour. Four hundred of the assailantsfell. The garrison lost only five or six men. The besieged passed ananxious night, looking for a renewal of the attack. But when day brokethe enemy were no more to be seen. They had retired, leaving theEnglish several guns and a large quantity of ammunition. 

27. "Clive immediately began offensive operations. Re-enforced byseven hundred English troops and sepoys from Madras, and effecting ajunction with the auxiliary Mahratta force, he soon overran all theNorthern Carnatic. He gained a complete victory over Rajah Sahib'sarmy of five thousand natives and three hundred Frenchmen. At thistime Major Lawrence arrived from England and assumed the command. Anexpedition marched to the assistance of Mohammed Ali at Trichinopoly. The besiegers were defeated, and Chunda Sahib was put to death by theMahrattas, into whose hands he fell. 

28. "The English were now masters of the Carnatic, and the Frenchinfluence was broken. Steadily the English power was extended over theDeccan and all Southern India. Dupleix struggled against his fate invain, no French armament came to his assistance. His company condemnedhis policy and furnished him with no aid. But still he persisted, bribed, intrigued, promised, lavished his private fortune, andeverywhere tried to raise new enemies to the government at Madras, butall to no purpose. At length, when his last hope for empire died out, broken in fortune and spirits, he returned to his native country todie obscure and neglected. 

29. "Clive went back to England for a brief space, but after a year ortwo he returned to India as governor of Madras. His first serviceafter his return was to rout out a nest of pirates which had for along time maintained a stronghold upon the coast. He then turned hisattention to reform in the company's business, and to strengtheningBritish influence with the natives in all directions. Before twomonths had expired he received intelligence which called forth all theenergies of his bold and active mind. 

THE STORY OF THE BLACK HOLE. 

30. "Of the large provinces into which the Mogul Empire was dividedthe wealthiest was Bengal. No part of India possessed such naturaladvantages, both for agriculture and commerce. The Ganges, rushingthrough a hundred channels to the sea, has formed a vast plain of richmold which, even under the tropical sky, rivals the verdure of anEnglish April. The rice-fields yield an increase such as is elsewhereunknown. Spices, sugar, vegetable oils are produced with marvelousexuberance. The rivers afford an inexhaustible supply of fish. Thedesolate islands along the sea-coast, overgrown with noxiousvegetation and swarming with deer and tigers, supply the cultivateddistricts with salt. The great stream which fertilizes the soil is atthe same time the chief highway of Eastern commerce. On its banks, andon those of its tributary waters, are the wealthiest marts, the mostsplendid capitals, and the most sacred shrines of India. In numbersits inhabitants exceed 60, 000, 000; a population greater than that ofEngland and France combined. 

31. "The race by which this rich tract was peopled, enervated by asoft climate and accustomed to peaceful employments, bore the samerelation to other Asiatics which the Asiatics generally bear to thebold and energetic children of Europe. Whatever the Bengalee does, hedoes languidly. His favorite pursuits are sedentary. He shrinks frombodily exertion, and, though voluble in dispute and able in the war ofchicane, he seldom engages in a personal conflict, and scarcely everenlists as a soldier. There never, perhaps, existed a people sothoroughly fitted by nature and by habit for a foreign yoke. 

32. "The great commercial companies of Europe had long possessedfactories in Bengal. The French, the Dutch, and the English hadstations on the Hoogly, the chief branch of the Ganges. Of these theEnglish Fort William, on the site of the present city of Calcutta, wasnearest the sea. A church and ample warehouses rose in the vicinity, arow of spacious houses, belonging to the chief officers of the EastIndia Company, lined the banks of the river, and in the neighborhoodhad sprung up a large and busy native town. For the ground on whichthe settlement stood, the English paid rent to the government, andwere permitted to have practical control of their own domain. 

33. "The province of Bengal had long been governed by a viceroy of theMogul, who had become practically independent. In 1756 the sovereigntydescended to a youth under twenty years of age, who bore the name ofSurajah Dowlah. Oriental despots are perhaps the worst class of humanbeings, and this unhappy boy was one of the worst specimens of hisclass. His understanding was naturally feeble, and his temperunamiable. His education had been such as would have enervated even avigorous intellect, and perverted even a generous disposition. He wasunreasonable, because nobody ever dared to reason with him, andselfish, because he had never been made to feel himself dependent onthe good will of others. 

34. "Early debauchery had unnerved his body and his mind. He indulgedimmoderately in the use of ardent spirits, which inflamed his weakbrain almost to madness. His chosen companions were flatterers sprungfrom the dregs of the people. It is said that he had arrived at thelast stage of human depravity, when cruelty becomes pleasing for itsown sake, when the sight of pain as pain is an agreeable excitement. It had early been his amusement to torture beasts and birds, and whenhe grew up he enjoyed with still greater relish the misery of hisfellow-creatures. 

35. "From a child Surajah Dowlah had hated the English. It was hiswhim to do so; and his whims were never opposed. He had formed a veryexaggerated notion of the wealth which might be obtained by plunderingthem, and his feeble mind could not perceive that the riches ofCalcutta, however great, could not compensate him for what he mustlose if the European trade should be driven by his violence to someother quarter. Pretexts for a quarrel were readily found, and SurajahDowlah marched with a great army against Fort William. 

36. "The servants of the company at Madras had been forced to becomestatesmen and soldiers. Those in Bengal were still mere traders, andwere in no condition to defend themselves against the formidableattack. The fort was taken, after a feeble resistance, and nearly thewhole English population fell into the hands of the conqueror. A few, including the governor, had saved themselves by taking refuge in theships. The Nabob seated himself with regal pomp in the principal ballof the factory and ordered Mr. Holwell, the first in rank among theprisoners, to be brought before him. His Highness talked about theinsolence of the English, and grumbled at the smallness of thetreasure he had found; but he promised to spare their lives, andretired to rest. 

37. "Then was committed that great crime, memorable for its singularatrocity, memorable for the terrible retribution by which it wasfollowed. The English captives were left to the mercy of the guards, and the guards determined to secure them for the night in the prisonof the garrison, a chamber known by the fearful name of the BlackHole. The space was only twenty feet square. The air-boles were smalland obstructed. It was the summer solstice, the season when the fierceheat of Bengal can scarcely be rendered tolerable to natives ofEngland by lofty hills and by the constant waving of fans. 

38. "The number of prisoners was one hundred and forty-six, and theywere driven into the cell at the point of the sword. They cried formercy. They strove to burst the door. Holwell offered large bribes tothe jailers; but the answer was that nothing could be done without theNabob's orders, and that the Nabob was asleep and would be angry ifanybody waked him. Then the prisoners went mad with despair, andfought for places near the windows where they might obtain air. Thejailers in the mean time held lights at the bars and shouted withlaughter at the frantic struggles of their victims. 

39. "At length the tumult died away in low gaspings and moanings. Theday broke. The Nabob had slept off his debauch, and permitted the doorto be opened. Twenty-three ghastly figures staggered out of thecharnel-house, one hundred and twenty-three bodies were hastily throwninto a pit and covered up, and the Black Hole of Calcutta has goneinto history as a synonym for all that is dreadful and all that ispossible in human suffering. 

40. "The horror which daylight revealed awakened neither pity norremorse in the bosom of the savage Nabob. He inflicted no punishmenton the murderers. He shoved no tenderness to the survivors. He sentletters to the Court of Delhi, describing his conquest in most pompouslanguage. He placed a garrison at Fort William, and forbade Englishmento dwell in the neighborhood. 

CLIVE IN BENGAL. 

41. "In August the news of the fall of Calcutta reached Madras, andexcited the fiercest and bitterest resentment. The cry of the wholesettlement was for vengeance. Within forty-eight hours after thearrival of the intelligence it was determined that an expeditionshould be sent to the Hoogly, and that Clive should be at the head ofthe land forces. The naval armament was under the command of AdmiralWatson. Nine hundred English infantry and fifteen hundred Sepoyssailed to punish a prince who ruled over 60, 000, 000 of people. InOctober the expedition sailed; but it had to make its way againstadverse winds, and did not reach Bengal until December. 

42. "In the mean time the Surajah Dowlah was reveling in fanciedsecurity. He was so ignorant of the state of foreign countries that heoften used to say that there were not ten thousand men in all Europe, and it never occurred to him that it was possible that the Englishwould dare to invade his dominions. But while in no fear of theEnglish, he began to miss them greatly. His revenues fell off, and hisministers at length made him understand that it was more profitable toprotect traders than to plunder them. He was disposed to permit thecompany to resume their operations when he heard of the arrival ofClive in the Hoogly. He instantly marched with his troops towardCalcutta. 

43. "Clive commenced operations with his usual vigor. He routed thegarrison at Fort William, recovered Calcutta, and stormed and sackedthe Nabob's stations along the river. The Nabob, alarmed at this proofof power and spirit, made overtures of peace. He offered to restorethe factory, and to give compensation to those whom he had despoiled. 

44. "Clive, considering the disparity of his force and the uncertaintyof war, consented to negotiate. The terms which he demanded were thosewhich guaranteed much greater power to the English than they ever hadbefore. His manner was cool and determined, as though conscious ofpossessing power sufficient to enforce his demands. The Nabob behavedwith all the faithlessness of an Indian statesman and with all thelevity of a boy. He promised, retracted, hesitated, evaded. At onetime he advanced with his army in a threatening manner towardCalcutta, but when he saw the resolute front which the Englishpresented, be fell back in alarm, and consented to make peace on theirown terms. 

45. "The treaty was no sooner concluded than he formed new designsagainst them. He intrigued with the French upon the Hoogly. He invitedthe French force in the Deccan to come and drive the English out ofBengal. All this was well known to Clive and Watson. They resolved torid themselves of one source of danger before the Nabob's plans wereconsummated. They attacked the French factory upon the Hoogly. Watsondirected the expedition by water, and Clive by land. Their success wasrapid and complete. The fort, the garrison, the artillery, themilitary stores, all fell into the hands of the English. Fresh fromthis victory Clive returned to his negotiations with the SurajahDowlah. 

46. "The Nabob was confounded by this sudden movement and thedestruction of the French power. He regarded the English with stillgreater fear and still greater hatred. He oscillated between servilityand insolence. One day he sent a large sum to Calcutta, as part of thecompensation due for the wrongs he had committed. The nest day he sentvaluable jewels to Bussy, the French commander in the Deccan, imploring that officer to hasten and protect Bengal against Clive, whom 'may all bad fortune attend. ' He ordered his army to marchagainst the English. He countermanded his orders. He tore Clive'sletters. He sent answers in the most florid language of compliment. Hethreatened to impale Mr. Watts, the English agent. He sent for Mr. Watts and begged pardon for the insult. 

47. "In the mean time his folly, his vices, his dissolute manners, andhis love of low company disgusted all classes of his own subjects, anda formidable conspiracy was formed against him in his own capital. Theconspirators entered into negotiation with Clive, and he agreed toplace Meer Jaffler, the head of the movement, upon the throne ofBengal. In his diplomacy Clive seems to have laid aside his characteras a bluff soldier, and to have taken lessons from his wily andtreacherous Indian foes. He intrigued and deceived until the lastmoment, when the conspiracy was ripe and his army ready. 

48. "The moment for action came. Mr. Watts, the English agent, secretly fled and took refuge in Calcutta. Clive put his troops inmotion, and wrote to the Nabob a letter in which he set forth theEnglish wrongs, and concluded by saying that, as the rains were aboutto set in, he and his men would do themselves the honor of waitingupon his Highness for an answer. 

49. "Surajah Dowlah instantly assembled his whole force and marched toencounter the English. It had been arranged that Meer Jaffier shouldseparate himself from the Nabob, and carry over his division to Clive. But as the decisive moment approached, the fears of the conspiratorovercame his ambition. Clive advanced to the river which separated himfrom his foe. The Nabob lay with a mighty power a few miles off atPlassey. Meer Jaffier delayed, and returned evasive answers to theremonstrances of the English general. 

THE BATTLE AND ITS RESULTS. 

50. "Clive was in an anxious and painful situation. He could place noconfidence in the sincerity or the courage of his confederate; andwhatever confidence he might have in his own military talents, and inthe valor and discipline of his troops, it was no light thing toengage an army twenty times as numerous as his own. Before him lay ariver over which it was easy to advance, but over which, if thingswent ill, not one of his little band would return. 

51. "On this occasion, for the first and for the last time, hisdauntless spirit, during a few hours, shrank from the fearfulresponsibility of making a decision. He called a council of war. Themajority pronounced against fighting, and Clive declared hisconcurrence with the majority. Long afterward he said that he hadnever called but one council of war, and that if he had taken theiradvice the British would never have been masters of Bengal. Butscarcely had the meeting broke up than he was himself again. Heretired alone under the shade of some trees, and passed an hour therein thought. He came back determined to take the risk, and gave ordersthat all should be in readiness for passing the river on the morrow. 

52. "The river was passed; and, at the close of a toilsome day'smarch, the army, long after sunset, took up its quarters in a grove ofmango-trees near Plassey, within a mile of the enemy. Clive was unableto steep; he heard through the night the sound of drums and cymbalsfrom the vast camp of the Nabob. It is not strange that even his stoutheart should now and then have sunk, when he reflected against whatodds, and for what a prize, he was in a few hours to contend. 

53. "Nor was the rest of Surajah Dowlah more peaceful. His mind, atonce weak and stormy, was distracted by wild and horribleapprehensions. Appalled by the greatness and nearness of the crisis, distrusting his captains, dreading every one who approached him, dreading to be left alone, lie sat gloomily in his tent, haunted, aGreek poet would have said, by the Furies of those who had cursed himwith their last breath in the Black Hole. 

54. "The day broke--the day which was to decide the fate of India. Atsunrise the army of the Nabob, pouring through many openings of thecamp, began to move toward the grove where the English lay. Fortythousand infantry, armed with firelocks, pikes, swords, bows andarrows, covered the plain. They were accompanied by fifty pieces ofordnance of the largest size, each tugged by a long team of whiteoxen, and each pushed on from behind by an elephant. Some smallerguns, under the direction of French soldiers, were perhaps moreformidable. 

55. "The cavalry were fifteen thousand, drawn from the bolder raceswhich inhabit the northern provinces; and the practiced eye of Clivecould perceive that the men and horses were more powerful than thoseof the Carnatic. The force opposed to this great multitude consistedof only three thousand men; but of these, nearly one thousand wereEnglish, and all were led by English officers and trained in theEnglish discipline. 

56. "The battle commenced with a cannonade, in which the artillery ofthe Nabob did scarcely any execution, while the field-pieces of theEnglish produced great effect. Several officers in Surajah Dowlah'sservice fell. Disorder began to spread through his ranks. His ownterror increased every moment. One of the conspirators advised him toretreat. This advice, agreeing as it did with what his own terrorssuggested, was readily received. He ordered his army to fall back, andthis order decided his fate. Clive snatched the moment, and orderedhis troops to advance. 

57. "The confused and dispirited multitude gave way before the onsetof disciplined valor. No mob attacked by regular soldiers was evermore completely routed. The little band of Frenchmen, who aloneventured to confront the English, were swept down the stream of thefugitives. In an hour the forces of Surajah Dowlah were dispersed, never to re-assemble. Only five hundred of the vanquished were slain;but their camp, their guns, their baggage, innumerable wagons, innumerable cattle, remained in the power of the conqueror. With aloss of twenty-two soldiers killed and fifty wounded, Clive hadscattered an army of sixty thousand men, and had subdued an empirelarger and more populous than Great Britain. "

58. This brilliant success of Clive added Plassey as one of thebattle-fields of the world which has shaped national destinies anddecided the fate of trillions of people. Though much was yet to bedone before the fruits of victory could be fully realized, Clive atonce became almost supreme in authority. Surajah Dowlah fled indisguise, and disappeared from history in complete obscurity. MeerJaffler held Clive in slavish awe. He once reproved a native of highrank for some trouble with the company's Sepoys. "Are you yet tolearn, " he said, "who Colonel Clive is, and in what station God hasplaced him?" The answer was: "I affront the colonel! I who never getup in the morning without making three low bows to his jackass!"

59. The policy inaugurated by Clive was continued by his successors. The British rule was extended by setting up native princes, or settingthem aside, as expediency dictated, until the whole vast region southof the Himalayas passed under their control. The weak tradingcompanies of 1755 have blossomed out into an empire. 

60. British India to-day, in extent of territory and in absolutesafety, is immeasurably greater than that of the Moguls in the heightof their glory. The first wild exercise of irresponsible power hasbeen corrected, and governmental affairs under British rule are nowadministered on the foundation of substantial justice. The peasant nolonger flies from governmental officers to the more mercifulcompanionship of the cobra and tiger, and all who toil find protectionas never before. The races of the Orient have been brought face toface with the arts and sciences of the West, and untold millions havecause to bless the day when Robert Clive was forced to close theledger and take up the sword. 

CHAPTER X. 

_LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. _

1. The Pilgrims had passed away. Long years had elapsed since the lastof the New England fathers had exchanged the earthly for the heavenlykingdom. The grandchildren and the great-grandchildren of the firstimmigrants possessed the soil. No aliens they, seeking a refuge in anunknown land, but the sturdy possessors of homes where they were born, and around which clustered all tender family ties. The passionate lovefor England, filtered through three generations, had moderated to afilial respect without impairing filial obedience. 

2. Marvelous the change in outward conditions of that century and ahalf! Wave after wave of intelligent activity had passed over theland. Settlers' fires hunted the track of Indians westward bound. Onthe site of primeval forests, fields of grain shimmered in the sun. The rude hut, hastily built for shelter, had given place to thecomfortable farm-house and the elegant mansion. Village and city hadgrown up in the centers of trade. The mechanic arts had slowly madetheir way. Change vast, weighty, permanent--not sudden, but orderlygrowth--fruit of seed sown, but none the less marvelous for that. 

3. Internal change had accompanied the external. Spiritual growth hadgone hand in hand with increase of life's comforts. Persecution as ameans of conversion had disappeared before common dangers andsufferings. Intolerance had toned down into a mild form of bigotry. The shovel-hat of the parson and the flowing robes of the magistratehad lost much of their superstitious significance. The hard, self-imposed restraints of the Puritans had become less rigid at homeand in public. Individual life was freer, fuller, and more complete. 

4. So sped the years until after the French war--until the last ofEngland's rivals had been effectually subdued. Now England, for thefirst time, seems to have been brought face to face with her sturdyoffspring. Now she deliberately made up her mind to make himuseful--pay her debts, fight her enemies, subserve her interests firstand always. So, with blustering words about rights, she imposedburdens, with significant hints in regard to chastisements; shewithheld privileges; the cherishing mother in word and deed proving tobe a veritable step-mother with the hardest of hearts. 

5. Here trouble began. The son had an equal share with the parent inAgincourt and _Magna Charta. _ He was confiding and unsuspicious, butthe experience of three generations in the wilds had accustomed him tofreedom, and had given him hardihood. His shoulders were broad, but itwas difficult to bind burdens upon them against his will. As thepolicy of the parent dawned upon him, first came incredulousquestioning, "What does this mean?"--then protest, showing the injuryand suggesting "There must be some mistake!"--last, conviction ofintended injustice, the hot wrath, and the emphatic statement, "I willnot obey!" The angry note of defiance was heard rolling along theAtlantic coast from New England to Georgia. Descendants of Roundheads, Cavaliers, and Huguenots forgot their ancient prejudices and unitedagainst this common danger. Patrick Henry responded to the sentimentsof Otis and Adams, and Virginia sent friendly greetings to thecommonwealth of Massachusetts. 

6. The madness that afflicted the last years of the life of George IIIseems to have taken possession of the British ministry. Exactionfollowed exaction in increasing intensity and number. The history ofcoercive legislation can scarcely find a parallel to that of theBritish Parliament for the fifteen years following the fall of Quebec. Withal, no excuse was ever made for injustice done, no sympathy wasever expressed for suffering inflicted, but all communication conveyedthe stern purpose to subdue. Hungry for affection, the half-grownoffspring turned his face toward England for the smallest caress, andthe east wind brought back across the Atlantic full in his face thesharp crack of a whip. 

7. Then came a period of aggression and resistance. The Stamp Act waspassed, but stamp could not be sold, and the lives of stamp-vendersbecame miserable. Soldiers crowded citizens upon Boston Common;citizens mobbed the soldiers; soldiers fired, killing five citizens, and were saved from destruction only by the active interference of thepatriot leaders. This affray marked the first shedding of blood, andhas gone into history as "The Boston Massacre. " Tea was taxed, butthe matrons took to catnip and sage, and no tea was sold. Threecargoes of taxed tea were sent into Boston harbor, but a war-whoop washeard; the vessels were boarded by a band of painted savages, tomahawkin band; the tea-chests were broken up and the tea was thrown into thewater. This last act demanded special punishment, and the Boston PortBill shut up the port of Boston, allowing no ship to go in or out. Thesympathetic people of Salem and Marblehead placed wharf and warehouseat the disposal of Boston merchants, softening the blow as much aspossible. Relief to the suffering poor of Boston poured in from allsides, and the British ministry saw that the whole people were makingcommon cause in resistance to oppression. 

8. The next step is the vigorous use of the strong arm. Filial lovemust be forced in by means of bayonets, and affection secured bygunpowder and bullets. A strong force of soldiers under General Gagetook possession of Boston. The troops were quartered in the City Halland other buildings sacred in the eyes of the people to justice andpeace. The city government was superseded by the military. Sentinelspatrolled the streets. Arbitrary edicts took the place of law. Citizens were interfered with while in the pursuit of privatebusiness. For soldiers' insults there was no redress. The leadingpatriots, John Adams, Joseph Warren, James Otis, John Hancock, andSamuel Adams, were hunted, and a price was set on their heads. Bostonwas in the strong hands of military power. Outwardly it was subdued, but beneath was a seething fire, ready to burst into flame when themoment for conflagration should arrive. 

9. But Massachusetts was aroused. Town and country were one. The warspirit invoked engendered its kind. Committees of Safety were formedin every town. The drum and fife echoed from mountain to valley. Themusket of the old war, the shot-gun of the sportsman, and the rifle ofthe hunter were brought from their resting-places and prepared foruse. Forge and hammer were busy in making guns and swords. Minute-menin every hamlet prepared to march on the moment. Nor were the womenidle; wheel and loom were busy as never before. The patriot soldier, starting for the front, was clad in serviceable home-spun, prepared byloving hands, and he departed amid the tears, prayers, and blessingsof loving yet steadfast hearts. 

10. The General Court of Massachusetts was convened. It was denouncedand proscribed by General Gage, but in the eyes of the people itsmandates had all the force of law. Taxes were levied and cheerfullypaid. The colony was divided into military districts, and each oneplaced under the command of a competent officer. Powder, arms, andother military stores were collected, and all needful preparationswere made for war. The other New England colonies fully shared in theexcitement of Massachusetts. The note of alarm spread through theland, and a Continental Congress was called to meet at Philadelphia toconsider the policy best to be pursued for the common weal. 

11. But General Gage became impatient. He would strike a blow thatwould at once assert British power and terrify the whole rebel race. The mailed hand must be seen beneath the soft glove. The opportunitywas not long wanting. A military depot at Concord, eighteen milesnorthwest of Boston, he determined to seize. A force of eight hundredmen, under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, was to set outon the evening of April 18th. The patriot leaders were early awarethat some movement was on foot, and eager eyes watched for indicationsof its force and direction. But it was kept a profound secret, and itwas not until the troops were upon the march that their destinationcould be guessed. Let the poet tell how the purpose was discovered andthe news carried to the country:

[Illustration: _Paul Revere's Ride_]

PAUL REVERE'S RIDE. 

 12. Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, seventy-five. Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. 

 13. He said to his friend, "If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch In the North Church tower as a signal light-- One if by land, and two if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country folk to be up and to arm. "

 14. Then he said "Good night!" and with muffled oar Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore, Just as the moon rose over the bay, Where, swinging wide at her moorings, lay The Somerset, British man-of-war: A phantom ship, with each mast and spar Across the moon like a prison bar, And a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide. 

 15. Meanwhile his friend, through alley and street, Watches and wanders, with eager ears, Till in the silence around him he hears The muster of men at the barrack door, The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet, And the measured tread of the grenadiers, Marching down to their boats on the shore. 

 16. Then he climbed the tower of the old North Church, By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread, To the belfry chamber overhead, And startled the pigeons from their perch On the somber rafters, that round him made Masses and moving shapes of shade; By the trembling ladder, steep and tall, To the highest window in the wall, Where he paused to listen and look down A moment on the roofs of the town, And the moonlight flowing over all. 

 17. Beneath in the churchyard lay the dead, In their night-encampment on the hill, Wrapped in a silence so deep and still That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread, The watchful night-wind as it went Creeping along from tent to tent, And seeming to whisper "All is well!"

 18. A moment only he feels the spell Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread Of the lonely belfry and the dead; For suddenly all his thoughts were bent On a shadowy something far away, Where the river widens to meet the bay-- A line of black that bends and floats On the rising tide like a bridge of boats. 

 19. Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride, Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride, On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere. Now he patted his horse's side, Now gazed on the landscape far and near, Then, impetuous, stamped the earth, And turned and tightened his saddle-girth; But mostly lie watched with eager search The belfry-tower of the old North Church, As it rose above the graves on the hill, Lonely and spectral and somber and still. And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height A glimmer, and then a gleam of light. He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight A second lamp in the belfry burns. 

 20. A hurry of hoofs in the village street, A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, And beneath, from the pebbles in passing, a spark Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet. That was all! and yet, through the gloom and the light, The fate of a nation was riding that night; And the spark struck out by that steed in its flight Kindled the land into flame with its heat. 

21. The British column moved on through the darkness with no soundsave the steady tread of marching feet. At first, farm-house andhamlet were wrapped in a deep repose, but as the night wore on signsof life began to appear. At every cross-road, horsemen galloped off attheir approach, and hurried lights at chamber windows showed thatslumber had been suddenly interrupted. At day-break the invading forcereached Lexington, a little village twelve miles from Boston. Hereminute-men to the number of about one hundred and twenty, aroused bythe cry of Paul Revere, had hastily assembled. They offered noopposition to the British troops, but stood silent spectators to theunusual sight. 

[Illustration: THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON]

22. The British column halted, and Major Pitcairn rode forward, and, in the most peremptory tone of command, cried out: "Disperse, yourebels! Throw down your arms and disperse!" No one obeyed, and hegave the order to fire. Out blazed the muskets, and what remained ofthe little group sought safety in flight. The British marched on, leaving on that peaceful common, under the very shadow of the church, eight figures stark and motionless in death. From this baptism ofblood they moved on, regretful, perhaps, at the stern necessity oftheir action, but rejoicing that all opposition had been so easily andcompletely overcome. 

23. On they sped. The sun arose in its glory to cheer them on theirmarch. Their thoughts were jubilant as in fancy they posed as heroesbefore their fellows left behind. No vision of the dead men staringupward from the blood-drenched grass of Lexington haunted them. Thesilent march of the night had ended, and now they could press onwardwith clatter and song. The six miles to Concord were soon passed over. A strong guard was left at the bridge, for, with all his confidence, Colonel Smith was a skillful commander, and would neglect noprecaution to secure the safety of his troops. So careful was he thathe sent back a secret messenger from Lexington for more men. On pressthe exulting soldiers, on through the streets of Concord in search ofthe military stores. But lo! they had taken wings and flown to a placeof safety. A few barrels of flour, half destroyed, a, few hundredcannon-balls thrown into wells, was the sole outcome of the intendeddestruction. The Committee of Safety had performed their dutydiscreetly and in time. 

24. But hark! What means that musketry? Not the scattering fire of askirmish, but volley answering volley! Has the impossible come topass? Have the rebels dared to fire upon the king's troops? But thefiring grows warmer, louder. Hasten to the bridge lest retreat be cutoff! The guards, sore beset, welcome the aid. Armed foes spring up onevery side! They are behind, before--everywhere! No safety now but ininstant, rapid retreat. 

 25. "You know the rest. In the books you have read, How the British regulars fired and fled-- How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farm-yard wall; Chasing the red-coats down the lane, Then crossing the fields, to emerge again Under the trees, at the bend of the road, And only pausing to fire and load. "

26. Discipline and valor are of no avail here. Vollied musketry haslittle chance against backwoods sharpshooters occupying everyvantage ground that their knowledge of the country enabled them to do. The day was wearing on. Noon found them a disorganized mass, flyingthrough Lexington streets, the scene of their morning victory. 

27. In the mean time Lord Percy, with eight hundred fresh troops andtwo field-pieces, is marching out on the Lexington road; not that anydanger was apprehended, but simply as a precautionary measure. Betweentwo and three o'clock, while yet two miles short of Lexington, ominoussounds of conflict smote his ears: not the rolling volleys and statelytread of victory, but the confused noise of fight and flight, betokening irretrievable disaster. The fresh troops were formed into ahollow square, and pell-mell the hunted fugitives came rushing intotheir place of refuge. Exhausted by their long march and hot fight, many of them fell prone upon the ground, "their tongues, " says a highauthority, "hanging out of their mouths. "

28. But Lord Percy must not delay. Ten miles lie between him andsafety, and many hours of day remain before darkness will lend itsfriendly aid. Short time for rest. Beat off the fierce and persistentattacks! Speed away while yet unsurrounded! A British army must neversuffer the humiliation of defeat and capture by a horde of rebelYankees. So through the afternoon the red-coats marched quickly, sullenly, dejectedly, fighting desperately for very life. The dayclosed as they neared the river, and under the starlight theyembarked, finding safety and rest at last--not quite yet, for as thelast boat left the shore a rifle blazed out, and one more victim wassent to atone for the wanton murder on Lexington Common. 

29. The eventful day ended with a loss on the part of the British oftwo hundred and seventy-three, while the aggregate loss of thepatriots was one hundred and five. Without discipline, and with themost reckless exposure to danger, they had inflicted a loss nearlythree times as great as they had sustained. 

30. The news of Lexington spread, everywhere producing wildexcitement. The notes of warlike preparation were heard throughout theland. With deliberate purpose General Gage had sown the dragon'steeth, and there literally sprung up a bountiful crop of armed men. Every village and every farm-house helped to swell the number. Theremotest hamlet furnished its contingent. In distant Connecticut, gallant old General Putnam heard the news while plowing. Prompt aswhen he dragged the wolf from its den, he unyoked his oxen, left hisplow in the furrow, and, leaping to his saddle, galloped to the fray. Fiery Ethan Allen, at the head of his Green Mountain Boys, was eagerto march, but paused to execute that marvelous enterprise whichsecured for the patriot cause the formidable fortresses of Ticonderogaand Crown Point, with all their military stores. Day by day themultitude increased, until thirty thousand men were encamped aroundBoston, from Charlestown Neck to Dorchester. 

31. From the evening of the Lexington fight General Gage was shut upin Boston. The patriots kept a strict guard on every road, and noparties were permitted to pass out or provisions to pass in. Allsupplies for the town came by sea. The officers chafed under theenforced inactivity. They would be done with the ignoble work ofdefense behind fortifications. They longed for an opportunity toregain the prestige lost on that fatal nineteenth of April. ButGeneral Gage was too wise a commander to risk the safety of his army, so he held the impatience of his officers in check and awaited events. 

32. The patriot leaders were equally impatient. The enthusiasm of themoment must be turned to good account. The men were all unused toliving in camps, and were peculiarly exposed to camp diseases and campvices. Discipline had not yet counteracted the demoralizing tendenciesof army life. The different divisions of the army were ranged underfavorite local leaders, and while there was some show of order therewas little or no concert of action. It was now the middle of June. Twomonths had elapsed since Lord Percy was driven back into Boston. Allmeans to lure General Gage from the town had failed, and an aggressivemovement was devised. It was resolved to take a new positionthreatening the town and the shipping in the port. The place selectedwas the highland on the Charlestown peninsula known as Bunker Hill, and the time fixed upon for the enterprise the night of June 16th. 

33. Eight hundred men armed with shovels and picks assembled at sixo'clock. The movement was known to be a perilous one, and every manfelt that he took his life in his hand. President Langdon, of HarvardCollege, offered prayer with the ancient Puritan fervor. ColonelPrescott took command of the military operations and Colonel Gridleyconducted the engineering. In early evening they set out. The marchwas in profound silence. With suppressed breathing and stealthy treadthey made their way--an army of ghosts entering the land of shadows. But the grim faces of the officers and the clinched hands of the menshowed more than ghostly purpose. About midnight the march ceased. Clear in the starlight they could see British ship and camp, and couldhear the sentinel proclaim, "All is well. " A redoubt eight rodssquare was laid out, and these eight hundred husbandmen bent theirseasoned muscles to the work. The embankment grew up in the darkness, and at day-break its six feet of height amply protected the workerswithin. 

34. In the American camp all was excitement and expectation. Supporting parties were organized, supplies hurried up, and means forre-enforcement and retreat provided. It was now that the fatalweakness of the patriot organization was made manifest. Differentleaders had notions inconsistent with each other, and divided councilsled to indecisive action. The brunt of the coming engagement was leftto one tenth of the patriot forces. Scarred veterans scented thebattle from afar, and hastened to the front to share the danger andthe glory. With no command, officers were content to act as volunteersand handle muskets. Putnam, with military foresight, took charge ofthe line of communication, and with true farmer instinct he convertedtwo rail-fences and a field of new-mown hay into a line of serviceablebreastworks reaching across Charlestown Neck into the country. 

35. At day-break the astonished Britons gazed upon this vision of thenight. A moment's pause, then instantaneous, rapid action. Thatnocturnal growth threatened their very lives. Those audacious andinsolent rebels must be swept from existence. Without orders theBoston battery at Copp's Hill opened upon the redoubt as soon as itwas discovered. Ships in the bay poured in furious broadsides. Thecannonade awoke Boston from her slumbers. Citizens half dressed rushedinto the streets. Every roof and steeple that commanded a view of thescene was soon crowded with anxious spectators, who remained thereduring the livelong day. Patriot and royalist mingled, and fiercepassions and wordy wars accompanied the progress of the conflictoutside. Exultation at patriot success was often too great to besuppressed, and wild cheers sounded from the house-tops and echoedthrough the streets. 

36. So passed the forenoon. The little band on the hill, protected bythe earth-works, worked on with speed and safety. The hurtling massesof iron aimed at their destruction either buried themselves in theyielding earth or passed overhead without injury. One man only paidwith his life the penalty of his curiosity in looking over thebreastworks. An early luncheon was served and then work again. Buteven iron muscles have their limit of endurance, and the earth-wallsgrew less rapidly as the day wore on, until at high noon workaltogether ceased. 

37. But what of the enemy! By this time they are aware of theuselessness of their cannonade. Other and stronger measures must betaken, and that on the instant. The military renown gained on so manybattle-fields must not be lost in a conflict with rude peasants--thebest point of vantage in a general war must not be lost to the king. Every sentiment of ambition and loyalty urged to action. A shipdropped down the river and took position to command Charlestown Neck. But the rail-fence and the new-mown hay resisted the shock, and theAmerican line remained unturned. Rough old Putnam's foresight becamean important factor in the day's conflict. 

38. Suddenly the drum's loud beat and the shrill scream of the fifestartled all hearts into a fiercer life. The notes, with no tremor offear, rang out sonorous, triumphant. For centuries such notes had ledBritons to victory, and to-day British soldiers will do or die. Fourthousand grenadiers, under Lord Howe, march down to the shore with thequick, elastic tread of soldiers upon a holiday excursion. In thatresolute front and precision of movement there was little to raise thespirits or inspire hope in the hearts of the thousands of patrioticobservers who were watching the movements with feverish anxiety. Inperfect order they embark, and in perfect order they land upon theCharlestown shore. In their advance toward the silent redoubt no linewavered and no step faltered, though every man was aware of thefearful peril before him. 

39. Within the little earth-work all was activity and expectation. Pomeroy, Stark, Putnam came to help--not to dictate. At the lastmoment General Warren, from the State Committee of Safety, unable toconceal his anxiety, came and took his place in the ranks. Theseofficers all outranked Colonel Prescott, but neither of them wouldtake the command from the officer who had proved himself capable andworthy of it. Shovels and picks gave place to rifles and muskets, and, as experienced eyes glanced along the death-dealing tubes, gravesmiles lit up rugged faces at the thought of the welcome the enemywould soon receive. "Be steady! Be firm!" is the parting injunction ofPutnam, as he takes his way to his command at the rail-fence. "We mustconquer or die, " is the sentiment of Warren, as he grasps the musketof a common soldier, showing to the last that noble patriotism whichmakes his name so dear to all who love their country. "Keep cool. Waituntil you see the color of their eyes! Aim at their red coats. Pickoff their commanders!" are the fiery last commands of Prescott, as thescarlet column moved up the hill. Each soldier is in place, each eyeunflinchingly is fixed on the enemy, and each right hand is pressedupon the musket, ready for the supreme moment. 

40. The batteries, which had been covering the advancing columns, ceased as they neared the summit. An ominous silence succeeded thetumult of the preceding hours. No sound is heard but the short, quickwords of command in the British ranks, and the steady tread of themarching files. The space had diminished to a few rods, and still agrave-like silence wrapped the redoubt. At the last moment had thehearts of the patriots failed? Did the near approach of the red-coatsdeprive them of their courage? By the double-quick, forward march!"rang out from the British lines. A sudden rush, and one deafeningvolley! Was it lightning from heaven that struck down every man intheir first rank? Was it the earthquake's shock that left those longlines of dead heaped like grass before the mower's scythe? The rearranks, paralyzed by the terrible disaster, held their ground, but nohuman courage could withstand the fire that blazed fierce andmerciless from the redoubt. A moment's pause, and then a wild, headlong flight to the sheltering boats on the shore. 

41. As shouts of triumph went up from thousands of sympathizinghearts, the contending forces were in a state of intense activity. Within the breastworks Prescott, cool, deliberate, masterful, watchedevery detail and directed every action. Warren, Stark, and Pomeroy putsoul into every movement. Putnam defended his own line, and sent thegood news outward to cheer the thousands who had taken no part in thecontest, and to urge immediate re-enforcements. In the Britishquarters new officers took the place of those who lay stretched on thehill-side; the men were rallied and reformed; new regiments came overfrom Boston, and again four thousand men breasted the hill and marchedup to the breastworks with colors flying and drums beating. This timethey were permitted to come within the reach of friendly greeting, when again a solid sheet of flame leaped forth from the breastworks, again covering the earth with the dead. The rear columns for a fewmoments stood fast, but nothing could withstand that hail of shotaimed to take life, and again they fled to the shore. 

42. The day was wearing on. It was now five o'clock. If the Americanscan hold on until the friendly darkness sets in, they may retainpossession of Charlestown and force the British to evacuate Boston. General Ward was at Cambridge, trying in vain to secure order in timefor action. General Knox ranged up and down the lines, franticallyurging the men to follow him to the fray. Putnam, blazing withexcitement and fully comprehending the danger, was everywhereanimating and urging on the fresh troops. Now he sent almost franticappeals for powder; now he implored the men in reserve to move atonce, and now he rallied his own men to repel the attack upon his ownlines. A considerable force was at last rallied to march, but uponreaching Charlestown Neck the firing from the British ships was sodeadly that they dared not venture to cross. In the redoubt was thecourage of despair. The powder had given out, and for many of themuskets only a single cartridge remained to meet the coming charge. But all remained firm while the sun slowly sunk in the west. 

43. After their second repulse, the force under Lord Howe, cowed anddemoralized, refuse to again advance into the jaws of death. The ideais gaining ground that the rebel position is impregnable, and that awise policy demands that no more blood shall be shed in a vainendeavor to reduce it. The impetuous Sir Henry Clinton refuses to takethis view of the situation, and his counsels are heeded. Everymilitary resource at the command of General Gage is now brought intorequisition. All the ships in the harbor are ordered to direct theirfire upon the fort and the line of communication. New batteries areerected by competent engineers to sweep through the outer breastworksand render them untenable. The reserve forces are ordered up, andevery available man is in the ranks. The charge must now be made onevery side and the little band of eight hundred literally crushed bynumbers. All this and the final charge must be made within the fewhours of remaining daylight, or British power is forever at an end inAmerica. 

41. At last all preparation ends and the time for action arrives. Shotfrom the new batteries drive the defenders with severe loss withintheir interior defenses. The advance of the swarming enemies is metwith a feeble, scattering fire in place of the volleyed death of theprevious charges. Showers of stones and blows from clubbed musketsgreet those who first mount the ramparts; but nothing could resist thelast desperate bayonet charge of the British. The defenders of thefort slowly and sullenly retired before the overwhelming numbers oftheir adversaries. At the last moment Major Pitcairn meets his death, and thus expiates as far as possible his bloody orders at Lexington. At nearly the same moment General Warren, in the very rear of theretreating troops, is shot, sealing with his life his devotion to hiscountry. That the retreating Americans were not annihilated was due tothe rail-fence of General Putnam, and to his skill in holding theenemy in check while the flying fugitives found safety in the country. 

45. The battle of Bunker Hill is ended. The cross of St. George fliesover Prescott's redoubt. Four hundred and fifty patriots and fifteenhundred Britons are killed, wounded, and missing. Eighty-nine Britishofficers--numbers unprecedented--sleep in the dust. Patriot courageand endurance are found to equal patriot enthusiasm. Technically thebattle is lost; morally it is won. Where Warren fell a nation is born. The Fourth of July records the fact--Yorktown attests the record. Anation is born--from the Pilgrims inheriting love of freedom, fromstout Roger Williams toleration--a nation charged with the sacredmission of organizing human rights upon the basis of human liberty.